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wwiiiSome days, Warren found himself drowning in paperwork. Some days, he walked into his office to be faced with a stack of petitions to Glacia's Consort that was so high he was pretty sure he would never see the bottom.
Today, incidentally, was not one of those days. He'd run through all of the paperwork on his desk two, three, four times just to be thorough, had even gone so far as to write thank you notes to those Queens and Consorts in other Courts to thank them for their attendance at this official function or that one. Karla was busy elsewhere, his phone battery was dead, and Warren had gotten to that point in the day where all there was to do was sit and pass the time by drumming his fingertips on the top of his desk.
It was fortunate that the Court Steward, Lord Mallory, stuck his head into Warren's office before he could drum some gouges into the wood.
"My Lord," he said, clutching a stack of paperwork to his chest, "Lady Karla would like me to remind you that if you're late for dinner and leave her entertaining alone again, she'll tie you to the General and throw the both of you into a closet."
Warren gave a wry chuckle in response to that, gesturing to his empty desk.
"That shouldn't be an issue. I have a few hours to kill yet, and nothing to kill them with." A beat. "What do you have there?"
Mallory looked at his own stack of papers, and then gave his head a shake, even as Warren pulled himself up from his seat to investigate.
"Nothing of any importance tonight, Lord. Merely the sort of correspondence that I've taken the liberty of separating out from the papers that actually need to make it to your desk."
Warren pursed his lips a little as he leaned over the stack. Considering the one on the top was addressed to, 'That Landen Bastard of a Consort,' he could wager a guess as to what the rest of the stack contained.
"Why not leave those with me anyway? It'll help me kill some time, at least. And I'll get a chance to see where I stand in the eyes of the general public, these days."
Mallory's expression suggested that he didn't think it was one of Warren's better ideas, but he wasn't going to argue with the Consort. He tended to do his damnedest to keep out of the way of Warren's baleful glares as much as possible.
"If you wish, my Lord, but do keep in mind that these letters aren't representative of Glacia's most rational people."
"It'll be just like looking at hashtags on Twitter," Warren replied, smiling faintly as he was met with a puzzled glance from the Steward. "I can handle it."
A few minutes and a few more cautionary statements from Mallory later, and Warren was sitting at his desk again, leafing through the mail with one eyebrow raised. He supposed be probably shouldn't have been surprised that 'Landen Bastard' wasn't the worst insult the locals had come up with, and he even set aside a few letters addressed to Karla that were obviously written with the intent of turning her against him in order to give a 'real Blood male' a chance at his position. They could laugh at them together later. Or, at least, make a mental note between them to laugh behind their backs at social functions.
Not that they were petty.
It was a letter about halfway down the stack that managed to actually grab Warren's attention, all of the rest aside. Written in a childish hand, it was one of the few letters that actually used his name, and though it was from outside of the Territory, there was something about a small child writing to the Consort of Glacia that made it difficult to set aside.
A few minutes later still, and he was stalking out into the hallway again, letter in hand, wings mantled, and bristling.
"Mallory! What the Hell were you thinking!?"
Mallory was not having a good day.
[OOC: For one!]
Today, incidentally, was not one of those days. He'd run through all of the paperwork on his desk two, three, four times just to be thorough, had even gone so far as to write thank you notes to those Queens and Consorts in other Courts to thank them for their attendance at this official function or that one. Karla was busy elsewhere, his phone battery was dead, and Warren had gotten to that point in the day where all there was to do was sit and pass the time by drumming his fingertips on the top of his desk.
It was fortunate that the Court Steward, Lord Mallory, stuck his head into Warren's office before he could drum some gouges into the wood.
"My Lord," he said, clutching a stack of paperwork to his chest, "Lady Karla would like me to remind you that if you're late for dinner and leave her entertaining alone again, she'll tie you to the General and throw the both of you into a closet."
Warren gave a wry chuckle in response to that, gesturing to his empty desk.
"That shouldn't be an issue. I have a few hours to kill yet, and nothing to kill them with." A beat. "What do you have there?"
Mallory looked at his own stack of papers, and then gave his head a shake, even as Warren pulled himself up from his seat to investigate.
"Nothing of any importance tonight, Lord. Merely the sort of correspondence that I've taken the liberty of separating out from the papers that actually need to make it to your desk."
Warren pursed his lips a little as he leaned over the stack. Considering the one on the top was addressed to, 'That Landen Bastard of a Consort,' he could wager a guess as to what the rest of the stack contained.
"Why not leave those with me anyway? It'll help me kill some time, at least. And I'll get a chance to see where I stand in the eyes of the general public, these days."
Mallory's expression suggested that he didn't think it was one of Warren's better ideas, but he wasn't going to argue with the Consort. He tended to do his damnedest to keep out of the way of Warren's baleful glares as much as possible.
"If you wish, my Lord, but do keep in mind that these letters aren't representative of Glacia's most rational people."
"It'll be just like looking at hashtags on Twitter," Warren replied, smiling faintly as he was met with a puzzled glance from the Steward. "I can handle it."
A few minutes and a few more cautionary statements from Mallory later, and Warren was sitting at his desk again, leafing through the mail with one eyebrow raised. He supposed be probably shouldn't have been surprised that 'Landen Bastard' wasn't the worst insult the locals had come up with, and he even set aside a few letters addressed to Karla that were obviously written with the intent of turning her against him in order to give a 'real Blood male' a chance at his position. They could laugh at them together later. Or, at least, make a mental note between them to laugh behind their backs at social functions.
Not that they were petty.
It was a letter about halfway down the stack that managed to actually grab Warren's attention, all of the rest aside. Written in a childish hand, it was one of the few letters that actually used his name, and though it was from outside of the Territory, there was something about a small child writing to the Consort of Glacia that made it difficult to set aside.
A few minutes later still, and he was stalking out into the hallway again, letter in hand, wings mantled, and bristling.
"Mallory! What the Hell were you thinking!?"
Mallory was not having a good day.
[OOC: For one!]
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-27 04:12 pm (UTC)Nyles? Nyles, who actually turned out to be fairly easy to find. After all, he wanted to be easy to find, if it meant he could get a few more silvermarks tonight. If it was well past his bedtime, well, he was hardly the sort of child to care.
"Hey," Warren said, giving the boy a wave as he spotted him down the road. "We've got another question for you..."
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-27 04:21 pm (UTC)*Someone call Dickens. Tell him an urchin is missing,* Karla thought sourly at Warren. She was in no mood for games.
"Give us directions to the landen orphanage and we'll give you plenty of money for dinner and breakfast, too."
The boy's expression shifted, sombered. "Well, my lady Queen, I'd love to do that, I really would, but me giving you directions right now wouldn't do you a lick of good. It's locked up tighter than a Blood jewelry store. Doubtful anyone'd answer right now anyway."
"They'll open for me."
Nyles shook his hear regretfully. "None but landen staff there now. The Blood administrators won't be in till mid-morning. No luck getting answers or information or much else till then."
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-27 04:26 pm (UTC)"Can you give us directions regardless? A very dear friend of mine is in there by mistake, and I intend on making certain that she's safe and well." A beat. "Unless, of course, you happen to know where the administrators themselves spend their nights. I'd be willing to add a goldmark to your pay for information like that."
Rather than, you know, ripping the hinges from an orphanage door and leaving the landen caretakers to catch Hell for the damages come morning.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-27 04:33 pm (UTC)"But we want to fetch her now," Karla said, trying not to grind her teeth in frustration.
"But she's probably already asleep," Nyles argued. "You wanna wake her up and for a whole bunch of arguing with folks who can't even help you? Tomorrow, you can actually deal with the people in charge. Get an eyeful of the orphanage, too."
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-27 04:43 pm (UTC)"Of course, we could just ask somebody else to show us the way..." He gave his shoulder a shrug. "Nyles here is making some good points, but I'm beginning to get the feeling that he's far more invested in charging room service on our tab than he is in actually helping us out."
The boy's eyes widened only slightly, though it was more for a fear of losing a meal ticket than it was out of any sense of shame.
"B-but my lady, my lord, there's hardly nobody either of you can trust out here this time of night. And I should know. I've dodged 'em all."
"Very artfully, I'd wager," Warren mumbled under his breath, and then he shook his head. "You're aware you're talking to a Queen who wears the Ebon-gray and her Consort, trained by Prince Yaslana himself?" Not to drop names or anything. Really. "Neither of us are terribly inclined to worry about what sort of rogues we might encounter out here."
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-27 04:57 pm (UTC)"So then you'll lead us there?" Karla asked, resigned.
"Surely will," Nyles agreed. "But only if you promise to stop and get me something to eat. You'll be glad to have extras when we get there anyway."
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-27 05:04 pm (UTC)A beat.
"And we'll stop to get you something to eat."
Look, by this point it was either this, or he find someplace that was selling maps. At two in the morning. As one does.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-27 05:29 pm (UTC)For his part, Nyles looked more than a little dubious. "Why wouldja do that for me?" he asked. "You don't even know me and all I know about you is that you like kids with no one looking out for them. Landen kids, even."
And now Nyles looked like he was ready to run in the opposite direction if they so much as twitched in a way he didn't like.
Karla was just going to let Warren field that one. Since he was the one who decided to open Glacia's Home for Wayward Urchins all of a sudden.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-27 05:38 pm (UTC)"It's up to you, of course. I can understand why you'd be wary." He spread his hands a little. "You're just as welcome to say no, and we'll still make good on the promise of a meal, but it seems to me like it would be a mutually beneficial arrangement for both of us. We get our friend back, and you don't have to resort to extorting expensive hotel rooms and extra silvermarks out of strangers on the street in the dead of night."
There was a pause, and then he added, knowing full well that it might make or break the deal, "And I'm a landen myself. I'm not looking for easy prey, if that's what you've got ticking through that little head of yours. I met her in what was left of Agio, and we've kept touch since. Karla and I were both deeply upset when we learned that she'd lost what was left of her family."
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-27 05:58 pm (UTC)Karla's eyebrows were just permanently going to hang out by her hairline for the duration of the conversation. Because now Nyles was making it sound like he'd be doing them a favor by heading back to Glacia with them.
"You're too kind," she drawled. "But fair. You choose the food, you can take it right from the server yourself so you know we didn't tamper with it, and whatever else you need to do to realize we mean you no harm. But if you want any of this, you need to start moving. I'm just about all out of patience for haggling."
"As you say, my lady!" Nyles agreed, back to sounding chipper.
Other than a quick stop at a street-vendor camped out in front of a tavern selling meat pies of dubious provenance, their trip to the landen orphanage was direct. It was still in the landen quarter, though fairly close to the edge where the Blood warehouse district began. Looking up at the forbidding stone mansion, Karla decided that if Nyles was a Dickensian orphan, than this place was the conglomeration of every workhouse in his entire catalogue.
"Cora's here?" she asked, dismayed.
"Dunno." Nyles' voice was muffled; he was answering around a mouthful of meat-pie. "If she's a landen orphan with nowhere else to go, she is. Unless she's made her escape already. Then who knows where she could be. Prob'bly dead, if she don't know the city."
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-27 06:11 pm (UTC)"I'm not even going to consider that as an option until after we've been through here," he decided, stepping up to the front door and giving it exactly the sort of looking-over that this sort of thing required. Which mostly meant he was taking a look at the hinges to see how easy they'd be to simply rip free, if it came to that, before looking at Karla and shrugging his shoulders. "Here goes nothing?"
And then he was raising his fist and knocking on the door with enough upper body strength behind the gesture that the hinges were groaning anyway.
Nyles didn't comment, though his eyebrows did go up a little. Warren didn't so much as glance his way. Not when he could vaguely hear murmuring from inside - the exasperated sort, the sort that clearly didn't care for being woken up at all hours of the night - before the locks unlatched and a rather exhausted looking landen male pulled open the door.
"We're closed," he greeted the trio, his eyes still foggy enough with sleep that he couldn't tell, and likely didn't care, that at least one of the people he was speaking to was wearing Dark Jewels. "Business hours are between ten an' ten, come back in the mornin'..."
Warren's hand planted firmly against the solid wood of the door before it could close in their faces. He'd really had enough of that for one night.
"Actually, we'll be doing business now, if it's all the same."
"Well, s'not." The male planted his feet and gave closing the door another attempt. It didn't budge so much as an inch. "... But I might be persuaded to hear you lot out, if it means I'll be able to close the door and go back to bed soon."
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-27 06:35 pm (UTC)"You'll definitely have to come back in the morning for that," the male interrupted. "All work details are handled by the master. You wanna request someone, you have to do it through him."
"No, no, not to work," Karla explained through gritted teeth.
"Then whaddaya want her for?" the male asked, drawing himself up in indignation. "We ain't that kind of place, lady. Now get outta here before I report you to the guard! Doun's no place for the likes of you."
Furious, Karla closed her hand around empty air and jerked her fist upwards. The male screeched as his feet left the ground and he dangled, helplessly.
"We want Cora!" she demanded. "We're here to take her home and take care of her! So shut up and fetch her!"
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-27 06:44 pm (UTC)Warren put his hand on Karla's arm and shook his head.
"He can't show us anything if you're hanging him in midair," he pointed out, reasonably. And then he turned to glower at the man. "Though it's generally not highly recommended to go mouthing off to a Territory Queen who wears the Ebon-grey."
Yeah, yeah. He was flinging Karla's Jewel rank around a lot, here. But it seemed like a safer option for everyone involved, at this point.
"Cora is under our protection. She has been since she was a little girl. Her ending up here was a terrible mistake, and we intend to rectify it immediately. Your cooperation would be much appreciated." He almost let it sit at that. Almost. "But it isn't necessary."
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-27 06:51 pm (UTC)...The man had a point, Karla grudgingly conceded as she gently lowered him to the ground. Handing over children to complete strangers would likely be a poor plan for everyone involved, especially the child.
"Then fetch him," she suggested, also reasonably. And certainly not through clenched teeth.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-27 07:03 pm (UTC)The man, still in his nightclothes, stammered out his agreement before scrambling down the steps and out into the yard.
Warren looked between Karla and a somewhat wide-eyed Nyles, and then shrugged his shoulders a little. He was tired, damn it. He wasn't about to go running even more laps when there was a perfectly capable guy right there, who actually knew where he was going. He even closed the door that the landen male had left open, so as to not let the winter chill inside any more than it already was, before taking a seat for himself right there on the front stoop.
"Tonight," he murmured, "is fired."
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-28 03:01 am (UTC)...Karla didn't want to admit how much sense that made. Glancing at Warren, she murmured, "The kid has a point."
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-28 03:07 am (UTC)A beat.
"Besides, if they are mistreating Cora in there, I want to be able to look the man personally responsible for that in the eyes before I castrate him with my bare hands."
...
This was actually, somehow, Warren taking the moral high ground here.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-28 03:14 am (UTC)"I don't think so," Karla cut in swiftly, before Warren could decide that was an excellent idea actually. "First I go to the Queen of the city and throw a temper tantrum. While I'm doing that, Warren flies to Ebon Rih and summons Prince Lucivar. Probably Jaenelle and Uncle Saetan, too. Then, while the Queen here is politely telling me to shut up and mind my Territory's business, they will walk in. I don't think the orphans will have much to worry about after that."
Nyles whistled. "You know, lady, when you wanna cut someone's legs out from under them, you use a pretty big knife."
Karla winked at the boy. "Part of my charm, boyo."
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-28 03:24 am (UTC)He shook his head.
"We'd run out of rooms, anyway. And Glacia has almost more war orphans to take care of than we can handle, as it is." Though Raven was certainly putting forth an impressive effort. "Honestly, I'm mostly hoping that the whole aura of 'Dickensian workhouse' that this place is putting off is just a trick of the light, since it's so late. That might just be wishful thinking, though."
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-28 03:33 am (UTC)Maybe she could make Raven the head of all orphanages in Glacia and let them all conform to her exacting standards. Yes. As soon as they got home, that was what she was doing. And schedule a midnight tour of all the homes in Sidra, like a surprise inspection kind of thing.
"Maybe if we bring you home with us, we'll make you our personal children's home inspector," she mused. "You go into them, scope them out, and then report back to us what they don't want us knowing."
"Lady! You'd send me away to one of them places? After all I done for you?"
Karla snorted. "As if you wouldn't have three ways out scoped not ten minutes after you were sent in. Not counting the ones I can teach you."
Nyles looked intrigued in spite of himself. "Yeah, like what?"
Which was when Karla leaned forward, stuck her hand through Warren's chest, and waved.
"Neat! Can I try?"
"No!" They yelled in unison.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-28 03:49 am (UTC)"--At all hours of the night, the nerve, the nerve of some people. Why, I have half a mind to--"
Warren stood to greet the man, still wearing that little uptick of a smile. It could almost be mistaken for friendly, if one didn't actually know him.
"Yes, yes, we're aware it's late. But we're here on a matter of utmost importance regarding one of the children that was left here, probably just within the past month."
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-28 04:03 am (UTC)*None of that, my love,* she sent. *Each in its own time. First, we shove Protocol so far down their throats they choke on it. Then we inform them what they can and will do for us.*
She included Nyles in the thread for funsies. He seemed like he'd appreciate the fun.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-28 04:23 am (UTC)He straightened his posture squared his shoulders, and spread his wings just slightly as the Blood male opened his mouth to give them a piece of his mind. And then he was quite happy to talk right over him.
"Perhaps you're not aware of whose presence you're standing in, and we'll be willing to overlook your unfortunate lack of manners just this once with that in mind. But in the interests of avoiding the same mistake again, allow me to introduce Lady Karla, Territory Queen of Glacia." He paused just long enough to note the look on the faces of the two men before them, and then he pressed on again, barreling one more time over whatever drivel they were about to be subjected to. "I am her Consort, Lord Worthington, and our young associate is Prince Nyles, who has been assisting us in our endeavors."
Once again, there was a moment's pause, and then he raised an eyebrow pointedly.
"And you are?"
Honestly, he was hardly going to accept 'gobsmacked by being faced with a territory Queen' as any sort of excuse for not offering a proper response right off the bat, or even some manner of introduction. Protocol, people! Protocol!
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-28 04:35 am (UTC)Karla glided forward as if she were dressing in a long gown of silk instead of jeans, a sweatshirt, her hair in tangles after a ride on the Winds and another two in Warren's arms. None of that mattered. Ferric, at least, could sense all three of her castes and both of them saw the Ebon-grey hanging from her neck, aglow with an inner fire.
"My Consort is too modest," she said, inclining her head and holding her hands palm-down in front of her. "He neglected to mention that I serve in the First Circle of the Dark Court and he the Second."
Ferric, who had been bringing his hands up to touch palms with hers let them fall back to his sides in shock, prompting Nyles' stage whisper, "You're supposed to touch her palms with yours, my lord! It's Protocol!"
For his part, Lomb just looked happy to have foisted them off onto someone else and was now wondering how soon he could slip away and go back to sleep.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-28 04:53 am (UTC)"My apologies," Ferric managed, just barely, to choke out as he lifted his hands to Karla's. "It is an honor to serve Glacia's Queen and Consort, doubly so to serve two members of the Dark Court."
It was a miracle he hadn't wet himself yet.
"May I ask what would please my lady?"
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