Lainxsolus​:

zahryaofspring​:

✿*° ‘° ･

“That’s your problem Robin. You draw lines and make distinctions that don’t matter. Humans, drow, the Eye, the Senate, it’s all a waste. They envy us all the same, they bleed all the same. When pounded beneath the heavy fists of a changeling, all those who would do us harm are nothing but runny puddles of mess. The war we fight is on our very divinity. Anyone who would have us live less than our truths or gifts is our enemy. The notion that we must play by rules created by inferiors is an affront to what we are. Spring wasn’t my only teacher, I had innumerable vile mortals seek me out as an innocent child just to do me harm. And though he never spoke Asterion taught me more about who I am than anyone else. Apparently, you still fail to grasp who you are.” How any eladrin could learn who they were without a changeling to guide them was beyond Zahrya, but that’s where he stood completely apart from his people. They didn’t know so they didn’t understand. The younger generation confused him as much as they saddened him. None had the vast fields and endless skies of the Labyrinth to express themselves freely. They were repressed and lost, so much so that when given a directive from Titania herself they dared to question the faith she placed in him. Absolutely pathetic. “My domain is whatever my sovereign demands. Her Majesty said we were to have no mercy for this realm. If that is something you’re too weak to bring to fruition, then that is your deficiency. I served the Queen for longer than you’ve drawn breath. I know who I am. Whether or not someone is prepared for the storm doesn’t matter, because a storm rips apart weak strongholds as easily as it decimates fortified structures. At least mine do, because I was born to be powerful. I’ll weep for the future of your court if inaction is all you have to offer them.” 

...

“Because life has meaning Zahrya!” Robin finally snaps, the hum of magic turning the air sweltering around them as she raises her chin to glare at the Spring Chancellor from where she sits on the ground. “Life has meaning, and so does it’s ending and ignoring this because you were isolated of the world it’s not the solution. Your lack of empathy and worthless sense of superiority is going to get us all killed if you keep underestimating those who act against us, and you can’t see it. It only takes one mistake for a fey to die, and many of our enemies known how to do just that. Your reckless ignorance of how the world works outside of your Court is shameful, ignorant and will bite you in the fucking ass if you keep going this way. “ There is a noise of frustration as she raises from her sitting position, flames flickering on her fingertips before she clenches her first and takes a deep breath. “I am well aware that I am young and I have not been train in my position, but I know who am I. I know that the whole cannot be judged by the actions of the few, because if they were we would be just like the exile that has joined hands with Asphodel. We would be just like Fen’harel, traitorous and willing to overthrow our rules for power. But we are not, and that alone shows me that you know nothing of people, that the only reason you received your role is because you are powerful but witless. The storm might destroy the fortress and it’s inhabitants, but by numbers alone there will always be more to replace them, more waiting on the shadows to strike when we grow tired. For fucks’ sake, think things strategically for once in your life,“ She hisses out, a ran running over her face as she speaks. She is committing a mistake, she is aware, but she has grown tired of being condescended merely for having a different set of ideals than Zahrya. There is no denying that eladrins are inherently superiors, no denying that they have every advantage. And yet, countless have fallen at the hands of the Eye, countless have been hunted by vampires, witches and humans alike. “If it were power alone that granted us safety, we would not have lost the Otherworld, and my Court would be without dangers because despite what your ignorance has led you to believe, old witless fool, I am powerful and I am acting. I am just not stupid enough to put a target in my back.”

assanx​:

-

Food was always the way to his heart, so Robin was right to suggest it to him. It was incentive enough for Assan to continue attending, that and he liked fantasy and roleplay. It was absolutely not reason for him to organize any of the gatherings though, Assan would leave that to the professional people gatherers. He felt fortunate that Robin never seemed to have much of a problem understanding him, perhaps that was owed in part to her clairvoyance. That seemed to be a trademark among some of the fey. As carefree as Assan came across, it wasn’t all sushi rolls and smiles. Everyone had their struggles, everyone had their conflicts. “Salmon,” came the easy response as if to say that she didn’t need to worry about him. 

...

“The gods are turning their eyes to this realm, Assan. Worry is not something I can let go lightly,” she reminds her with a sigh. Problems kept pilling up like an abnormally dangerous Jenga tower and pretending that they are not is not something that she is capable of doing. Not when it is clear that the smallest of nudges might bring the entire tower crashing down in a tragic manner. Robin can’t help everyone, can’t protect them all, but she has to try to protect those she cares about. Has to try and protect her court too, before everything else. But if she can, she will protect her best friend too, as best as she can. “But do not take as me not trusting you, I know you can take care of yourself. I just. Well, with everything I cannot help the worry.”

"If that is how you feel, there is nothing else to say about it. However, if you ever need my aid in this matter, I will do so freely, as a repayment for the transparency." There is something rotten about having to word their relationship as transactional, but there is a desire to respect Inan's boundaries and they have time to build on the fragile trust he had chosen to extend to her after Fen'harel's betrayal. "I will, yes. I am curious to see what this Count is capable on this matter. You?"

"That's not my intention for coming here," Inan was not looking for permission, "I only wanted to be transparent." He thought carefully over his words to follow, elves had to be mindful of such things but whenever Inan spoke it was from the heart. "My brother died long ago, I won't know a drow renowned for terrorizing my people." Even if it hurt to think of Somniar as such, it didn't make the notions any less true. Onto some brighter tidings, Inan had also been meaning to ask, "Will you be attending the party in the mortal realm?"

wadecalhoun​:

          “Bit of a gut punch,” he offers Robin a sour expression for if she’s too paint him as a complete evildoer, the Archer is not about to exhaust himself fighting against such imagery. He’d thrived off of fear and anger, it led him to this pivotal moment of their friendship where now they were mere strangers once more, torn apart by violence spurred by hatred and confusion. “You must think I’m doin’ way more than working for them. I don’t have any clearance into those labs,” it’s a half-whisper considering she’s jumping right in when they’re on the line for coffee, but he’ll settle for duking it out with her as he waited.

“You know, that does it make me feel a bit better for trusting you for so long,” she muses thoughtfully as she settles by his side to wait for the line to move. It is almost amusing to hear him struggle to half-whisper, not realizing that she had thrown a privacy spell around the two as soon as she had stepped closer. Robin wasn’t careless, for fuck’s sake. She knew the meaning of subtlety, but she also was petty and vindictive, and worrying Wade just a little bit was far too amusing for her right now. “The fact that you do have morals, I mean. Makes it easier to believe you are just incapable to withstanding peer pressure, and not willingly malicious,” she comments carelessly before rising a brow. “The labs are not the only suspect thing of the whole organization and you know it.”

zahryaofspring​:

✿*ﾟ ‘ﾟ･

Ah yes, the sex. Copulation was required for mortals to reproduce and attempt to live beyond their feeble lives through the blood of their progeny. He knew some of the fey found pleasure in the flesh, but Zahrya had always seen himself above it. He knew for a brief moment, his parents held genuine love for each other and brought him forth as a result. Did he bloom out of the unions of their bodies or out of pure magic like he’d hoped for his future heir? Maybe both? It was something to ponder. 

“I have tried to reproduce in the past, but have not been successful. I doubt this setting has any unique quality that would allow my seed to take root when the faerie realm could not.” Because, by his logic, what would be the point if not to expand their numbers? Not to mention there were other factors. He had no labyrinth to safeguard the child, plus the Queen was in jail. Imagine nurturing a flower bud in a world where Her Majesty was behind bars! Absolutely not. “Besides, my options are quite limited. Excluding the other chancellors, there aren’t many higher-born eladrin in attendance.” 

....

“It’s not about your seed taking root,” she begins to say, deliberating how she is to explain to the Chancellor that he is extremely wind up and a quick fuck might help him wind down, considering everything else. Nothing will relieve the weight of their Queen being imprisoned, but a brief distraction while he is incapable of helping her might do wonders. “It is about a brief sense of peace, a moment to relax amidst all of our current stressors. Think of it of a sort of exercise to calm one nerves and destress. Of course, it is not for everybody and I do mean to pressure you, but it is quite a delightful experience and I believe you should at least give it a try. As a Spring Eladrin you must be aware that new beginnings, trying new things, is an important part of the cycle of life, correct?”

She has to bite her tongue to prevent a rather filthy comment that wants to break free. After all, she doesn’t think mentioning to the Chancellor that other species could be good sex partners would be a good idea. The man has made his views of non-eladrin clear.

“Now, perhaps there are not many higher born eladrin in attendance, but I have seen quite a few common eladrin that are quite the sight,” she points out as she recalls her brief re-introduction with the Eladrin Marshal. “Furthermore, may I remind you that both Fen’harel and Aurora have common parents? Implying that the children of common eladrin cannot be powerful seems rather odd, when we have clear examples of the contrary.”

Magic has always been a second thought, the swell of it coming to her aid without hesitation or thought. Rarely has she used as extensively as she does in battle, and rarely has she been left with nothing but the dredges of it after a spell. But the Titan is no ordinary spell, and her magic is not limitless. The thought tastes bitter as she feels Tamlen's death and falls. There is no enough to gather the dredges to stop her descent before Inan catches her, and Robin does not even try, trusting her warder to accomplish his duty. As they descent unto the roof, Robin eyes their surroundings thoughtfully and notes the direction the other Chancellors fell. She will have to rejoin them sooner rather than later. "Exhausted, but that will not stop me," she admits with a thankful nod as she stands and stretches for the first time in days. "My thanks for the rescue, my dashing knight. But do drop the title, it's altogether too stuffy and I have never been one for pomp."

@thegoodfellow location: Rome notes: warder things

Everyone connected to Tamlen felt the sudden severance of his life. Sharp and swift. Time was all but an illusion to the fey, they'd been at it for days, but moments later the Titan began to glow, then broke apart as the chancellors were scattered. The well of magic he'd had access to gone, Inan still had his own, and even without it that would not have stopped him from coming to Robin's aid. She fell and the warder lept to catch her before he landed with the soft footfalls on the opposite rooftop, the chancellor in his arms. Around them the city was in flames, the streets were a butchery, and the sky was an obsidian night. Cloudless. Starless. There was just the drow above them. Inan set her down on her feet, "Are you alright my lady?"

chancellorxlaer​:

-

Matters of Fall weren’t really his concern, but a threat to one of the chancellors was a threat to all of them. “You should brush up on your combat skills as well, we’re at war, you set the tone for your court. If you can’t hold your own, someone will replace you.” It’s not a warning or a threat, just a word of caution that reputation was everything, if and when (because with fey it was always a matter of when) word got out that Robin had been bested by a single mortal man, it might not end well for her. Laer returned to the task of adjusting some of the aesthetics of his court, the castle in the sky that loomed ever present over the barren wasteland of Summer’s sands below. A very clear metaphor for the ego of eladrins. “Let me know if I can support you in any way, Summer is always here.” 

...

“Any recommendations on who to turn to? I had considered a good enough fighter, but it is clear to me that I need to be better, and a teacher is always appreciated on these situations,” Robin comments, usual levity gone from her tone as she goes through the list of people she knows would provide help. If it were up to her, she would ask Aurora for help, but the Winter Chancellor is rather too busy for that. She hopes that Laer might have a suggestion or two, because despite her own lack of aspirations for leadership in the past, now that she has been given the position of Chancellor, she refuses to be deemed a failure. Not when she is making an effort to be better.

zahryaofspring​:

✿*ﾟ ‘ﾟ･

Here he was, pulling off a feat that most couldn’t even fathom, and yet again Zahrya had a sneaking suspicion his miracles were underappreciated. While this normally would bother him, he’s enjoying himself too much. The looks of shock delight him, the expressions of disgust are committed to memory. He wondered if those same individuals would still look at changelings like that if they were to become one…

Robin unintentionally saves someone from being whisked away and made to find out by Zahrya’s hand with her statement. It’s strange the customs mortals come up with to celebrate their insignificant holidays. “I would never take part in such an activity,” the creature groans out, its noises resembling speech as closely as Zahrya could compel. “Leave the bones of the deceased in the ground to feed the plants. Throwing them at me would do no good.” The young ones were always trying to get him to assimilate. Why would he want to be associated with a species who found pleasure in tossing the remains of their fallen at each other?

...

For a moment, Robin is so very glad that she has become quite adept at maintaining what humans call a poker face, because if she had not, the possibility of her bursting into inappropriate laughter after Zahrya’s retort would have been a reality and not just a possibility. That wouldn’t have done. While she quite enjoys talking to the Chancellor as if they were her pears, she would never openly insult them without a built rapport between them. Aurora is a rather different case, as they were friends and occasional lovers before she became Winter Chancellor, but Zahrya? As she is not of the Spring Court, and nowhere near his age, she is not as close to the Chancellor. Insulting him with inappropriate laughter wouldn’t do — 

But revealing what she meant would. After all, she did mean her comment as it had been honest. Perhaps relieving some of the tensions he has been carrying since Titania’s imprisonment would help calm down the near manic energy the spring eladrin is exuding.

“Pardon me for the misunderstanding, Zahrya, ‘boning’ is a mortal euphenism for sex,” she explains patiently, an innocent smile on her face as she speaks, showing no hint of shame at the topic of conversation. “I am just suggesting that perhaps having relations with an attractive individual might help you enjoy the festivities, as many chose to do in Hollow’s Eve.”