preened: sturmhond. (pic#16582856)
THAT GUY WHO ISN'T STURMHOND. ([personal profile] preened) wrote2023-09-08 08:14 pm
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OPEN POST.



You can drop shit here and I'll roll with it.
ilk: (pic#16739781)

[personal profile] ilk 2023-10-08 11:38 pm (UTC)(link)
Perhaps you ought to encourage your mirror to find a personality trait aside from 'sycophantic'.

[ Like any good halfway-drunk person, she's already forgotten her decision to stick to water; and takes another sip of her wine. Did someone refill her glass when she wasn't paying attention? ]

'Contrary' would amuse you, I think. Everything you say to it, it vehemently argues.
ilk: (Default)

[personal profile] ilk 2023-10-09 12:38 am (UTC)(link)
[ Interestingly, it takes until just now for her to realise he's flirting with her... And that she's been flirting back for quite a while. Strange, that it took her mind becoming slightly cloudy with drink for her to gain any clarity. Maybe her sober self would never have considered the possibility.

Anahid will need to decide what she wants to do, won't she?

Not yet, though. A few minutes longer, she tells herself. This isn't going to go anywhere, of course; but she wants to know what it feels like before the coming weeks take it all away. That's why she doesn't do the responsible thing and excuse herself from dinner, even though all that's left on the table is some untouched fruit. ]


If I were to vehemently deny it, I would just prove your point. Creating an argument to demonstrate I don't like to argue? I'd be handing you a victory. [ Nikolai.

Okay but what if she, like, just said it? For no reason other than... because. ]
ilk: (pic#16739737)

[personal profile] ilk 2023-10-09 01:29 am (UTC)(link)
I earned my victory through impeccable rhetoric, strong command of the subject matter, and a middling grasp of Ravkan.

[ So there.

Picking up a fresh pear for herself, she... cuts it into dainty little squares, which she then eats, one at a time, with a fork. Yeah. ]
ilk: (Default)

[personal profile] ilk 2023-10-09 01:52 am (UTC)(link)
You're trying to trap me in untoward behaviour, Majesty. I'm not nearly as gullible as all that.

[ Although... As she considers her hands, laid flat on the table with fingers splayed, something occurs to her. Her expression sombers slightly. ]

Actually, would your opinion of me change if I begged a favour?
Edited (typo, natch!!) 2023-10-09 01:58 (UTC)
ilk: (pic#16739775)

[personal profile] ilk 2023-10-09 02:15 am (UTC)(link)
[ It's hard not to hesitate. She's terribly embarrassed by the whole thing, including her own ignorance. She can't help but feel like she should have a stronger grasp on the situation than she does. This is a foreign country, yes, but it's rare she feels like a foreigner. ]

I had heard the royal library was open to the public. My friend and I had hoped to visit.

[ She had hoped to find some sort of reference for learning Kerch. And knowing Siyon, he'd wanted some forbidden, archaic tome that could teach him how turn a single pebble into a thousand full-sized elephants. ]

Your archivist turned us away, citing... sullied hands? [ Suli.

(This confusion would only work in English and they're not speaking English, let me MST3K mantra and live.) ]


He was concerned we would get the books dirty. I've no wish for further enmity, but if you could intervene on our behalf — [ A mix of shyness and mortification sinks her shoulders. ] I would be grateful.
ilk: (pic#16739796)

[personal profile] ilk 2023-10-09 02:45 am (UTC)(link)
[ No, she doesn't want to eat her pear alone! Not when she can watch an unpleasant gatekeeper be put in his place.

In truth, she hadn't meant right now - or anything more than a quiet word. And maybe she ought to keep out of it. A foreigner clinging to a king's reach in exchange for novelty is bound to get some tongues clucking. She hardly cares what people say about her, but Nikolai...

But she also isn't about to tell him what to do. ]


I'll come. Thank you.

[ The wink makes her heart do something abrupt and stupid.

And then she stands up; and realises how much she's had to drink (of a significantly more potent drink than anything served in Bezim) when she is forced to hold onto the edge of the table to keep from stumbling. Whoops! ]
Edited 2023-10-09 02:52 (UTC)
ilk: default (pic#16739777)

[personal profile] ilk 2023-10-09 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
[ You were more graceful never. Ha. So Anahid's drunken thoughts go. It's for the best that she's too disciplined to give them voice. She does come within an inch of bumping into a Ravkan countess going the other way, but manages to sidestep at the last possible moment, although with hilarious lack of subtlety. ]

Siyon.

[ None of Bezim's alchemists (nor their guests, including Anahid) would be here if Ravka's most talented Grisha hadn't felt the ripple of his actions from all the way across the world.

Talking about him, her voice warms in a way it never does when discussing her husband. ]


He's not nearly as opportunistic as he presents himself. He's just... blessed with a wandering eye. [ Beat. ] — But if you could inform me if he's popping up where he ought not to be, I would appreciate it.

[ And then she all but stumbles, trying to avoid a passing noble's very tiny leashed dog. ]
Edited 2023-10-09 03:25 (UTC)
ilk: (pic#16739783)

[personal profile] ilk 2023-10-09 03:58 am (UTC)(link)
[ His hand is warm on her back and it takes all her composure not to look at him. At her side, her fingers complete their journey of curling into loose fists for a moment, before relaxing. It's only slightly better when he opens the door for her. If anything, she should be grateful that the drafty palace is helping to sober her up a little; and that Nikolai gives her something to think about other than, well, Nikolai.

She's thought about him too much today as it is, and as those thoughts became progressively less sober, well...

Oh, right. He's asked her something. ]


I was hoping to teach myself the rudiments of Kerch. The library seemed like the most logical resource.
ilk: (Default)

[personal profile] ilk 2023-10-09 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ As they pass by the man, Anahid punctuates Nikolai's given nod with a smile of her own. The gentleman's eyebrows twitch a little, but he nods back and keeps walking without pause. ]

That's very kind of you, but I think I've reached the logical conclusion of your generosity.

[ (In the distant background, Nikolai might hear, "where do you think she's taking him?" — followed by, "it wouldn't be the king's first tryst, would it? Let him get it out of his sytem before he's wed," in reply.

Anahid doesn't hear any of this; and even if she did, the non-Os Alta regional accents might make the discreetly muttered Ravkan incomprehensible to her.) ]
ilk: (Default)

[personal profile] ilk 2023-10-09 06:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ The warmth of his touch lingers even after he moves his hand away. He's guided her to a linen cupboard, of all places; her chin begins to rise with suspicion, until he makes a show of opening the walls themselves for her. ]

That may be the least surprising thing I've ever learned about you.

[ Nikolai.

Nope, still can't bring herself to do it so casually. ]


Is it safe to — [ She gestures. Once he gives the go ahead, she'll sidle past him and into the passage. If the cobwebs decorating the corners are any indication, it's not utilised terribly often. ]
ilk: (pic#16739796)

[personal profile] ilk 2023-10-09 07:27 am (UTC)(link)
[ Drawing in a breath, Anahid refuses to think about the small shadow she saw skittering high up on the passage walls, and starts to walk. The corridor is musty and cramped, although not to the point that their movement is restricted.

After a few seconds, she says, ]


It's... still strange to me that you have so much - فضای خالی, [ empty space, for all she still doesn't know what words to use in his language, ] you can fill it with hallways that no one uses. In Bezim, a narrow townhouse is considered a status symbol of great wealth.

[ Something brushes against her foot before scampering on. Anahid doesn't scream, of course, but she does stiffen briefly and reach, unthinking, for his hand. ]

Mine has four floors and two whole guest suites.
ilk: (pic#16739724)

[personal profile] ilk 2023-10-09 07:45 am (UTC)(link)
If you truly named all the rats Anton, no wonder they're acting out. You've given them a crisis of identity.

[ She hadn't even fully realised she'd reached for him until she feels his solid, assuring grip; and although it might be unwise, she has no intention of letting go. It's fine here. No one but The Anton Rat Collective can see them. (Hopefully they don't get any ideas and try to organise into a bloody revolutionary coup. But what is the likelihood of that happening in Fantasy Russia Analogue?)

A few more steps, and they come to another fork. Despite a fleeting desire to continue right and see what happens, Anahid pauses to give him time to direct her. ]

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