#avalcn

As he stands atop the Royal Menagerie, having believed himself alone with his thoughts, Cassius pauses, instincts well honed as both a soldier and an adventurer warning him of the presence nearby.

Immediately he tenses, drawing the very same Gunblade his father once gave him -much improved, much changed, no longer the weapon of a Tribunus but still his- towards the masked figure the ilk of which he's familiar enough with, nd yet far from aware of just how much, this soul that helped free Doma but a month prior.

"Who are you?" Cassius demands, wary and yet stern, an authority not truly gone seeping into his words. "You are not welcome here."

(    🐇   )                 THIS WAS GOING    nowhere.    the expression on her unmasked face made it clear that she was running out of ability to listen without saying a word.    she shakes her head,    arms crossed as she looks up    AT HER FATHER.

       ❛      ----------    AND I’M    FINE.    the worst of it was my hair got singed.   your concepts never intentionally hurt me and    so what    if i went    against    the wishes of those that disagreed.    MY DUTY    is to council the people and i made the decision to save those i could and i would    DO IT AGAIN.       ❜      

“Pray tell me, for what purpose do you seek wisdom?” 

It had taken a few weeks of gathering their courage up to actually dare approach her. The Athena. Their uncle had protected them for long years, after their parents had proven... less than understanding of their children’s true nature. Phobos had feared for Enyo and their twin, that they would at best be secreted away in Pandaemonium as a test subject, or perhaps outright returned to the star prematurely in an effort to track if their shared soul would split as expected.

But Enyo and their twin had spent long days researching, and it was hints of Athena’s own work that had given them the key to imbue the doll form Enyo wore with the semblance of life. Even if such a fate was attempted... their twin was safely ensconsed under Phobos’ protection still, and Enyo wouldn’t hesitate to flee her current body to escape imprisonment. Still, the chance to be understood, to maybe find a solution in this lifetime... They couldn’t pass it up.

@avalcn​ | cont.

A member of the convocation other than Halmarut themselves showing up tended to cause quite the stir. Thus when Azem showed up to pay a visit to the Words of Halmarut the researchers were simply abuzz. So much so that even someone as diligent as Rhea had caught wind of his arrival. The floral researcher had considered ignoring it and going about her day as if nothing unusual had occurred. Mostly because, as far as she was concerned, it was just a normal day. She was definitely not upset about her most generous gift going unthanked after she'd put so much thought and effort into it.

Alright, maybe not so much thought and effort, considering they were adorning his mask. She also may have heard that they were a favorite of his from the previous Halmarut before they returned to the star. Rhea had been angling for the position herself and had been plastered as much to their side as possible. Not that she'd gotten the position, but she'd worked herself nearly to death trying to get it. Not that any of it mattered now. Seeing Azem looking a little down lately in passing - or maybe it was just rumor - Rhea had taken it upon herself to gift him something she hoped would cheer him up.

After bestowing the gift she had quickly fled - to return to her work - and because she wasn't sure how the gift would be taken. It hadn't occurred to her to leave a note. Not to mention she had assumed she'd put one on after carefully crafting the sunflowers into their special 'Azem' hue as she had taken to calling the shade. It wasn’t until those whispers included why Azem was there that it hit her. She hadn’t attached her name to it. There had been nothing to thank, because he had no idea who had left them. Gritting her teeth, she screamed internally, resisting the urge to smack herself over the head with the nearest tome she could find. It was for her fellows sanity she resisted and instead made a bee-line to find the Convocation member. Mostly because her embarrassment was nothing in comparison to the fear that someone else might take credit.

Luckily, it didn’t take very long to find him. “It was me.” She announced, nearly tripping over her robes as she approached. The damned things were really too long at times. “My uh, my apologies. In my haste I forgot to attach a note to them. I meant to, but I got caught up in the whole thing, then it started raining and I had to return to work so...”

“What happened to you?” ( from emet :> )