#nuhn

Aemilia sas Valentina sat relaxedly in her chair, watching as the leader of the Dodo tribe, Master Huntress D'sheen Orak marched in smartly. On one side of her was the newly appointed Chief, D'tel Nunh, and on the other, her First, D'len Barr. All three Miqo'te marched in in formation, and D'sheen came to a stop in front of Aemilia's table, and executed a stiff Garlean salute with a bow.

Nyx stood at attention behind Aemilia, and off to her right, staring at the opposite wall. They could see the whole room without turning their head or even moving their eyes. They had been briefed on the nature of the meeting, and being as they had no part to play in it besides being a guard, they saw no reason to respond to anything going on.

They did make an idle mental note however that D'tel kept glancing their way. He was unarmed, however, and Nyx did not think them a threat to either themself or anyone else in the room.

"Greetings, honored guests," said Aemilia. "I am so glad you were able to take time out of your busy schedule to make time for the Empire. Please, have a seat."

D'sheen's eyebrows knitted as her gaze tightened, but she slowly and carefully sat herself down in the seat across from Aemilia, her eyes locked on the other woman the whole time. Her seat was smaller and less ornate than Aemilia's, and there was no seating available for her escort, so they took up position to stand on either side of her.

Aemilia for her part was all relaxed smiles and loose posture.

"The Dodo trrribe is honored for the invitation," said D'sheen stiffly. "Though if I may be blunt, you find us in a moment of crrrises."

D'tel was now looking steadily at Nyx, a frown on his forehead, his eyes flicking back and forth across their facial features. They continued to ignore him.

Aemilia was about to speak, when D'tel suddenly took a step towards Nyx, his fists clenching at his sides.

"That's her!" he spluttered. "That's the woman who killed the Chief!"

D'sheen snapped her head to the side. "D'ten, contrrrol yourself!" she snapped. She looked over at Nyx, and as she did, her eyes widened just a little. "...half-moon face of a Keeper," she said quietly, almost to herself. She turned to Aemilia. "Is that trrrue?" she demanded.

Aemilia's smile grew. "Why, yes, and that is the crux of the reason of why we have called you here."

D'sheen's already tense posture stiffened further. "Please explain."

Aemilia leaned back in her chair. "On behalf of the Garlean empire, I would like to extend our sincerest apologies vis-à-vis the current misunderstanding."

D'tel looked at her, shocked, and he took a step back to his prior spot, but his fists remained clenched. D'len, for her part, rested one hand on top of the book that sat at her hip, and kept a wary eye settled on Nyx.

"Misunderstanding? D'tel's father was an honored member of our trrribe, our Nuhn. Why would the Empire have any need to see him dead?"

"Ah, yes. You see, we caught him trading with the local beastkin tribe without going through one of our officers. Only barely a crime in and of itself, as you know, little need to do anything except bring him in for questioning and give him a warning. Except he was doing so under such tight secrecy, that we thought he was perhaps dealing with crystals. Our investigation found likewise, and so we acted swiftly, so as to stymie the possible summoning of one of the dread Eikons."

D'len made a pained noise as Aemilia confirmed the death of who, if the intelligence provided to Nyx was correct, was her father. Father to D'len and D'tel both, and others besides. Aemilia ignored her as she continued on.

"Imagine our surprise when he turned out merely to be dealing in medicines! Why, surely you can imagine our embarrassment. Hence why we are here, now, to offer our full and proper apologies. And perhaps, shall we say, negotiate a way forward to prevent such misunderstandings from happening in the future."

D'ten was trembling, now. D'len had not responded since her initial exclamation, and now stood stiffly, staring past Nyx and Aemilia both. Of the two, Nyx estimated D'tel to be the younger, by a good decade. Probably the one with poorer impulse control. The future possibilities did not collapse to violence, however, so Nyx stayed as they were.

D'sheen's hands now gripped her knees as her eyes narrowed, her voice strong and clear as she spoke. "And what does the Empire prrropose to that end?"

"Well. Simply put, in this case, we were working off of poor information! I think the solution is obvious. We simply need to integrate the Dodo tribe further into society. A few additional observers, nothing onerous, of course. We'd be assigning a few of our military to do the job. You can think of them as... additional advisors, much like the two you saw fit to bring to this meeting. They will help with economic matters, and the Empire will see that your people are fed and taken care of. They will watch over exports and imports to make sure nothing of this nature happens again. Of course, since we would be lending you some of our military might, we would need to ask something in return. Say, one in every four of your vaunted huntresses. Just to help with staffing."

D'sheen's jaw dropped. "You ask too much!"

"I ask for very little, I think you will find. You can, of course, reject our generous offer and make a counter-proposal if you like. Mind, there are those who think you unworthy of inclusion in the Empire, or tolerance of your people at all. Oh, to be certain, the Elezen and Hyur clearly are, and the Roegadyn, well, passably. But Miqo'te, Miqo'te, with your animalistic features and odd speech are just barely considered among those beings that can be civilized. I was so hoping we might avoid the question altogether."

D'sheen frowned at her. "Speech?"

"Why, yes. It's a manner we've not seen in the imminently more obviously civilizable Keepers of the Moon," said Aemilia, gesturing at Nyx. "You may not have the bizarre avoidance of proper noun and verb usage that the Goblins exhibit, or the interesting avoidance of putting words in the correct order of the Ixali, but you do have the strangest inability to pronounce a proper 'r' following a hard consonant. Strange, is it not? Some peculiarity of your voice box, perhaps, in keeping with a beast like heritage? I believe the other civilizable savages find it a noise quite difficult to mimic."

D'sheen's jaw dropped for a moment, before she snapped her jaw shut, and glared at an Aemilia giving her an easy grin in response.

"So you give us no choice at all, then," said D'sheen. "We either accept the hospitality of the Empire and give up our rights to be further subsumed, or we can find ourselves whittled down by your 'misunderstandings' until we can be safely disposed of as a potential danger to the land."

"Such bald words. If I were to say something so forthright in your position, I would be inclined to do so in a less ... adversarial ... tone of voice," said Aemilia lazily.

"...and what of our Chief? And what of what happens with -her-?" said D'sheen, gesturing at Nyx.

"Ah, well, it seems you have a new one already, do you not? As for Nyx oen Blackmoon, well, she is hardly at fault. She was just following orders, you see. Good people, the Keepers of the Moon. We've found her in particular to be helpful and handy. Excellent fighters. Very obedient. Very... efficient."

D'sheen's posture remained stiff and upright as she glared at Nyx. Nyx, for her part, continued to do nothing. They could see the probabilities coalescing, and then collapse, as D'sheen's shoulders dropped.

"We are willing to discuss the details of these terms," she said, defeated.

"No!" exclaimed D'tel, but she held a hand up to stop him.

Aemilia leaned forward, clasping her hands in front of her. "Very well. Are you ready to start the critical negotiations for the transitions of the Dodo tribe to proper Garlean citizenry?"

"We are."

"Say the words," said Aemilia carefully.

D'sheen looked up, startled, into Aemilia's eyes, her own eyes narrowing as she realised what was being asked.

"We are ready to start the critical negotiations of the Dodo tribe to proper Garlean citizenry," said D'len, stepping forward quickly.

Aemilia looked up, momentarily shocked, then clapped her hands. "Well done, splendid! Perhaps we were mistaken. That was said with incredible clarity, Miss D'len, I am impressed. Though it perhaps requires no deeply arcane knowledge to determine how a member of your tribe learned to speak as clearly as the sky over the sea. You've studied abroad, I believe?"

D'len merely stiffened as she returned to her spot, and Aemilia laughed. "But no matter! We have much to discuss in the details, now, don't we?"

Nyx merely stood and observed the next several hours as the meeting continued on, much in the same vein. D'sheen looked more and more defeated as the time went on, and D'tel kept sneaking glares at them, his probabilities occasionally threatening a future of violence, but never coalescing further than a low percentage chance of such. Nyx watched, interested, but did not move.

Aemilia sas Valentina sat relaxedly in her chair, watching as the leader of the Dodo tribe, Master Huntress D'sheen Orak marched in smartly. On one side of her was the newly appointed Chief, D'tel Nunh, and on the other, her First, D'len Barr. All three Miqo'te marched in in formation, and D'sheen came to a stop in front of Aemilia's table, and executed a stiff Garlean salute with a bow.

Nyx stood at attention behind Aemilia, and off to her right, staring at the opposite wall. They could see the whole room without turning their head or even moving their eyes. They had been briefed on the nature of the meeting, and being as they had no part to play in it besides being a guard, they saw no reason to respond to anything going on.

They did make an idle mental note however that D'tel kept glancing their way. He was unarmed, however, and Nyx did not think them a threat to either themself or anyone else in the room.

"Greetings, honored guests," said Aemilia. "I am so glad you were able to take time out of your busy schedule to make time for the Empire. Please, have a seat."

D'sheen's eyebrows knitted as her gaze tightened, but she slowly and carefully sat herself down in the seat across from Aemilia, her eyes locked on the other woman the whole time. Her seat was smaller and less ornate than Aemilia's, and there was no seating available for her escort, so they took up position to stand on either side of her.

Aemilia for her part was all relaxed smiles and loose posture.

"The Dodo trrribe is honored for the invitation," said D'sheen stiffly. "Though if I may be blunt, you find us in a moment of crrrises."

D'tel was now looking steadily at Nyx, a frown on his forehead, his eyes flicking back and forth across their facial features. They continued to ignore him.

Aemilia was about to speak, when D'tel suddenly took a step towards Nyx, his fists clenching at his sides.

"That's her!" he spluttered. "That's the woman who killed the Chief!"

D'sheen snapped her head to the side. "D'ten, contrrrol yourself!" she snapped. She looked over at Nyx, and as she did, her eyes widened just a little. "...half-moon face of a Keeper," she said quietly, almost to herself. She turned to Aemilia. "Is that trrrue?" she demanded.

Aemilia's smile grew. "Why, yes, and that is the crux of the reason of why we have called you here."

D'sheen's already tense posture stiffened further. "Please explain."

Aemilia leaned back in her chair. "On behalf of the Garlean empire, I would like to extend our sincerest apologies vis-à-vis the current misunderstanding."

D'tel looked at her, shocked, and he took a step back to his prior spot, but his fists remained clenched. D'len, for her part, rested one hand on top of the book that sat at her hip, and kept a wary eye settled on Nyx.

"Misunderstanding? D'tel's father was an honored member of our trrribe, our Nuhn. Why would the Empire have any need to see him dead?"

"Ah, yes. You see, we caught him trading with the local beastkin tribe without going through one of our officers. Only barely a crime in and of itself, as you know, little need to do anything except bring him in for questioning and give him a warning. Except he was doing so under such tight secrecy, that we thought he was perhaps dealing with crystals. Our investigation found likewise, and so we acted swiftly, so as to stymie the possible summoning of one of the dread Eikons."

D'len made a pained noise as Aemilia confirmed the death of who, if the intelligence provided to Nyx was correct, was her father. Father to D'len and D'tel both, and others besides. Aemilia ignored her as she continued on.

"Imagine our surprise when he turned out merely to be dealing in medicines! Why, surely you can imagine our embarrassment. Hence why we are here, now, to offer our full and proper apologies. And perhaps, shall we say, negotiate a way forward to prevent such misunderstandings from happening in the future."

D'ten was trembling, now. D'len had not responded since her initial exclamation, and now stood stiffly, staring past Nyx and Aemilia both. Of the two, Nyx estimated D'tel to be the younger, by a good decade. Probably the one with poorer impulse control. The future possibilities did not collapse to violence, however, so Nyx stayed as they were.

D'sheen's hands now gripped her knees as her eyes narrowed, her voice strong and clear as she spoke. "And what does the Empire prrropose to that end?"

"Well. Simply put, in this case, we were working off of poor information! I think the solution is obvious. We simply need to integrate the Dodo tribe further into society. A few additional observers, nothing onerous, of course. We'd be assigning a few of our military to do the job. You can think of them as... additional advisors, much like the two you saw fit to bring to this meeting. They will help with economic matters, and the Empire will see that your people are fed and taken care of. They will watch over exports and imports to make sure nothing of this nature happens again. Of course, since we would be lending you some of our military might, we would need to ask something in return. Say, one in every four of your vaunted huntresses. Just to help with staffing."

D'sheen's jaw dropped. "You ask too much!"

"I ask for very little, I think you will find. You can, of course, reject our generous offer and make a counter-proposal if you like. Mind, there are those who think you unworthy of inclusion in the Empire, or tolerance of your people at all. Oh, to be certain, the Elezen and Hyur clearly are, and the Roegadyn, well, passably. But Miqo'te, Miqo'te, with your animalistic features and odd speech are just barely considered among those beings that can be civilized. I was so hoping we might avoid the question altogether."

D'sheen frowned at her. "Speech?"

"Why, yes. It's a manner we've not seen in the imminently more obviously civilizable Keepers of the Moon," said Aemilia, gesturing at Nyx. "You may not have the bizarre avoidance of proper noun and verb usage that the Goblins exhibit, or the interesting avoidance of putting words in the correct order of the Ixali, but you do have the strangest inability to pronounce a proper 'r' following a hard consonant. Strange, is it not? Some peculiarity of your voice box, perhaps, in keeping with a beast like heritage? I believe the other civilizable savages find it a noise quite difficult to mimic."

D'sheen's jaw dropped for a moment, before she snapped her jaw shut, and glared at an Aemilia giving her an easy grin in response.

"So you give us no choice at all, then," said D'sheen. "We either accept the hospitality of the Empire and give up our rights to be further subsumed, or we can find ourselves whittled down by your 'misunderstandings' until we can be safely disposed of as a potential danger to the land."

"Such bald words. If I were to say something so forthright in your position, I would be inclined to do so in a less ... adversarial ... tone of voice," said Aemilia lazily.

"...and what of our Chief? And what of what happens with -her-?" said D'sheen, gesturing at Nyx.

"Ah, well, it seems you have a new one already, do you not? As for Nyx oen Blackmoon, well, she is hardly at fault. She was just following orders, you see. Good people, the Keepers of the Moon. We've found her in particular to be helpful and handy. Excellent fighters. Very obedient. Very... efficient."

D'sheen's posture remained stiff and upright as she glared at Nyx. Nyx, for her part, continued to do nothing. They could see the probabilities coalescing, and then collapse, as D'sheen's shoulders dropped.

"We are willing to discuss the details of these terms," she said, defeated.

"No!" exclaimed D'tel, but she held a hand up to stop him.

Aemilia leaned forward, clasping her hands in front of her. "Very well. Are you ready to start the critical negotiations for the transitions of the Dodo tribe to proper Garlean citizenry?"

"We are."

"Say the words," said Aemilia carefully.

D'sheen looked up, startled, into Aemilia's eyes, her own eyes narrowing as she realised what was being asked.

"We are ready to start the critical negotiations of the Dodo tribe to proper Garlean citizenry," said D'len, stepping forward quickly.

Aemilia looked up, momentarily shocked, then clapped her hands. "Well done, splendid! Perhaps we were mistaken. That was said with incredible clarity, Miss D'len, I am impressed. Though it perhaps requires no deeply arcane knowledge to determine how a member of your tribe learned to speak as clearly as the sky over the sea. You've studied abroad, I believe?"

D'len merely stiffened as she returned to her spot, and Aemilia laughed. "But no matter! We have much to discuss in the details, now, don't we?"

Nyx merely stood and observed the next several hours as the meeting continued on, much in the same vein. D'sheen looked more and more defeated as the time went on, and D'tel kept sneaking glares at them, his probabilities occasionally threatening a future of violence, but never coalescing further than a low percentage chance of such. Nyx watched, interested, but did not move.