erudite.

♢  — @gildstar said: ❝  but no warfare tonight, i trust.  ❞[fatui or normal verse, up to you!] EXPERIMENT IN PROGRESS: BALLROOM DIALOGUE PROMPTS

Why Aether had the INANE IDEA TO APPROACH HIM in this setting was anyone's guess. Ah, but perhaps that was the grievous error on his own part. Dottore operated by concise logic. Aether operated by two wires being placed together and hoping for a decipherably coherent thought to spark. And those wires had evidently not sparked any logical thought, or else surely the other would have known it best to leave the second harbinger to lurk like a ominous raven upon the top of the gallows as he observes the gaudy display of wealth and mannerisms that are nothing more than masks, decorations to parade themselves around with.

A scoff; sharp and disinterested. " You know as well as I that Her Majesty would not tolerate anything else. " SHOULD THERE BE A SCENE, THERE WOULD BE PUNISHMENT. Had they been absent, so too there would have been punishment. Hence why Dottore was here now, rather than tucked away with the familiar scent of disinfecting easing his muscles rather than the current predicament of elaborate waltzes filling the air.

" And if not her, then certainly the banker. " Of which the mere mention has Dottore's head moving ever so subtly ; only enough so that he may glance around from beneath his ask to make sure that iridescent-scaled snake was not TOO close at hand. ( It would have made no difference. Everyone knew how closely the two worked together and that there would be no surprise for there not to be any words exchanged yet information be known. )

‘ Have you heard? ’

‘ - the appointment of the Tenth seat. ’

‘ - a traveler from another nation. ’

‘ I hear he’s rather the young and dashing type. ’

Aether was skilled enough to pave his way with polite smiles and carefully curated small talk. He’d always been the one more suited to DIPLOMACY between himself and Lumine; he the more natural between them when it came to charming his way out of a puzzle and negotiating his terms. However, when it came to the chessboard of politicians it all became an entirely different game. Thankfully, it wasn’t one that he found too challenging to take up.

So he sipped at the expensive wine, gave the eyes of the cameras only what they needed and nothing more, putting on the most perfect portrayal of her Majesty’s newest Harbinger, equal parts biddable and mysterious. He’d danced with Her when coaxed into her grasp, obliging with a bow, easing into the rhythm of her footfall in their waltz, the perfect supplicant in all the eyes of the nation.

Now he found himself in what he considered a reasonably soured mood, retiring to one of the balconies for a break from the attention.

“I’ve done my fair share for tonight.” Aether responded with a slow blink, casting his gaze out over the tumult of the floor. “I’ve obliged Her Majesty. They’ve taken their pictures. I’ve answered their questions. I’ve drunk their wine and eaten their canapés.”

"you must want very much to die. you look like a trapped animal."

Trudging through the darkness of the Snezhnayan taiga, Aether found himself blisteringly cold. The sky above swirled with snow and the trees stood like skeletal silhouettes against a sky ENTRENCHED in darkness with the coming of nightfall. The forest air was steeped in an eerie silence that lingered like the scent of blood; a kind of uncanny tranquility that conveyed a warning in its petrifaction, like that of a carcass laid out and cautioning of a PREDATOR in the vicinity of its unlucky witness.

In truth, he’d known of Her presence for a good while now. She’d manifested some time ago like a spectre stalking him from the shadows, a haunted whisper on the breeze, conveying a muted quality to his surroundings that seemed to HUSH even the sound of his footsteps and make his heartbeat pound relentlessly in his ears.

Her voice rang out through the darkness, RESONANT like the sound of shattering glass. Aether STILLED, unease pricking at his spine like the point of a blade. He could feel the figurative jaws of the trap inching shut. His fingers curled around the hilt of his blade on instinct; flexing once, twice, then tightening in a measure of conviction.

A HUNTER need not hunt merely for survival. for hunters as skilled as Her, it is the thrill and control that drives them. a lone man going about a dark forest in this parts of snezhnaya is a prey with a death wish, one deserving of NO mercy at that. and COLUMBINA happens to be an exceptional hunter.

the tree branch she's sitting atop stands tall, a perfect spot to watch as this FOOL walks right in the palm of her hands. "you must want very much to die. you look like a trapped animal." her tone is disgustingly carpeted with mockery.

rosy lips whistle an ancient melody, and it is soft as a lullaby, tangling into a harmony with the cruel wind warning this golden traveler to run.

OR, to fight for his life.

the angel REAPER descends right behind him, bare hands and no mask, cluthing her SCYTHE with a belittling smile on her face. "my identity is no use, for you, traveler, are dead." and the next attack is treacherously abrupt, alas, columbina was never an honorable fighter. the scythe and sword clash with a screech, and it all sounds like a hymn to columbina.

His pulse was RAPID in his chest, hammering a furious rhythm against the flat of his sternum. That she was dangerous was a fact that begged no question, he could feel an otherworldly air emanating from her very being, relentless like a mirage of heat radiating from an inferno. Indeed, her slender frame and delicate features belied little of what lay beneath, and the reach of the scythe she carried would be a significant challenge to navigate all in on itself.

“What do - you WANT with me?” Aether sought his footing desperately even as he parried each successive blow, the JARRING impact of her strikes knocking the very breath from him without fail.

Not dead yet.

He staggered back a safer distance, panting from the abrupt exertion and the INCESSANT fury of her attack. It would have been optimistic to think that she might leave him the opportunity to gather himself for long.

??????

he has known columbina for a grand total of two days and thus far had been subjected to :

being boiled in soup.

being grilled without seasoning.

getting hosed down and thrown out into the snow.

getting locked in the basement.

getting lured into said basement via a steak on a rope.

being tied down and having his liver poked out with a blunt stick.

attempted theft of his rib cage.

being chased by an angel in biblically accurate form.

✉: @gildstar / walks into her quarters. absolutely sopping wet. ࣪✩࿐⋆*

columbina need not raise her head to see the boy at her door. the sound of water droplets hitting on her marble floor is enough of a messenger to who is shivering at her doorstep like a wet puppy. OR his shivering. "stay right where you are. i will NOT have you dripping all over my chambers." her voice saccharine, she reaches out to her perfume — one, two sprays, and she's finally off her vanity, heels knocking on the floor like a warning for what is yet to come.

"are you ready to BEHAVE now?" she snarls at the traveler, "or should i have my dear subordinates BURY you in the snow this time?" and she is smiling. that sweet, sarcastic, terrifying smile of hers. voice like honey. eyes faintly glowing behind the lacy mask. nobody, NOBODY messes with columbina's darling pets.

“ Okay! Okay. ” Aether backed a half-step away from the threshold, hands held up in surrender. How had he been expected to know that the birds fluttering about were off limits? They looked almost identical to the common pigeons he relied on sometimes for food. It had been an honest mistake!

“Hey!” Aether sprinted after the mysterious silhouette, footsteps sounding off the ground in tandem with their own, dislodging rubble as their chase tore off through the ruins and the rhythm of their pursuit echoed like thunder. Though they showed no sign of slowing down, Aether wasn’t quite out of puff just yet.

As he drew closer, their features became increasingly distinct. Long hair tied in a braid, clothing in gold, black and ivory, a jawline and gaze that made it feel like he was looking into a mirror - huh?

' nghh --- gaaah , alright , y'got me , ya got me !! ' any struggle's minimized ; he doesn't kick or go for the eyes , letting his shout gradually morph into laughter as the exhilaration escapes him in one panting gasp after another . ' uncle ! i'm not an enemy , i swear --- ! '

It was hardly normal behaviour to stalk someone in the dark, much less to linger around the periphery of a strangers’ camp without any DISCERNIBLE rime or reason.

tosses chi a rubiks cube and some chicken nuggets.

UNIMPRESSED crimson eyes turn towards the cube that has been tossed towards him. It's like some of the cubes in the desert ruins but . . . colorful ? Chi stares down at it before picking it up. Colors are usually for CHILDISH trinkets (never mind that he IS eternally a child) but he does like a puzzle. Is there a pattern he needs, or solid colors? His lips press together and he sits down, starting to twist and turn.

He shakes the box enticingly in Chi's direction. Seasoned meat wrapped in a coating of fried, doughy goodness. Who could possibly resist?