"The Slow Decay Never Stops, But With It Comes The Birth Of New Life," She Whispers, More To Herself

lainxsolus​:

“I’m well aware of how petty the fey can be. I got turned into a changeling during the masquerade party last year,” Time had dulled the pain he had experienced from the transformation, at least he could openly talk about it now without visibly trembling. Besides, he had survived and the ordeal had made him stronger. When he wasn’t numb to his emotions, he got a little scared. The initial opening himself up to become intimate and vulnerable with someone new was a hurdle that Lain always struggled with. It was easier being alone, but damn if it didn’t hurt like hell. “I don’t actually have fleas,” Lain replied, grinning, “I’ve been wearing my flea collar. Although if you start offering parasite removal services you might just become the most popular person in New Rome.” The lycan closed the short distance between them, lips brushing against Robin’s, his body reflexively flinching at the initial contact before he willed himself to relax against her. His lips continued to move against her’s, muscle memory coming back to him easily even after nearly a year of not kissing another person. It was not like he had not wanted to kiss someone before meeting Robin, but he always managed to talk himself out of it before he even made a move. He pressed her against the wall, hands moving down her body to firmly grip her waist. “There’s cops everywhere, how about we find somewhere more private?”

...

“Oh, you pretty thing, that wasn’t pettiness that was viciousness,” she tuts softly as she raises her hand to brush her knuckles across his cheeks tenderly. She can’t apologize, not when she would have done the same, cannot apologize for Fen’harel’s actions because at the end of the day, she is not above making changeling either. And yet, it would have been such a tragedy to lose the little puppy before they could have their fun. With their current alliance with the Lupo pack, she does not have to worry about a betrayal coming from their side, and that means that she can finally relax and have some fun. By the Seasons she had missed having fun. “Mmm,” she hums thoughtfully as she tilts her head. “I am pleased to know that, and I might even offer you the parasite removal if you are good, but I would never overstep my bounds, not when Zahrya has such a keen interest in the pack,” Robin croons playfully as she tilts her head to make it easier for the lycan to kiss her, moving carefully, as if she were treating a spooked animal. The hand brushing against his cheek slides down until it rests against his neck as she leans into the kiss, allowing him to take the lead as to not to spook him before they have their fun. Stepping back, she feels her back press against the wall and she smiles against his lips, a grin full of mischief. “I am agreeable to that compromise. Do you have any compunctions against fucking in a deserted clearing in the forest or do you prefer a bed?”

lainxsolus​:

The lycan listened as she divulged more information about the target, analyzing her words down to every last detail.  From how Robin spoke of the hunter, he could not shake the feeling that this was personal to the fey.  It served as a testament to the organization’s leaps in power, that they could sink their claws into a species as ancient and cunning as the eladrin.  “How do you know this hunter?  Did they try to kill you or something?” Lain prodded, like he wouldn’t eventually find out for himself.  When he hacked someone, he looked at everything. He commited the man’s name to memory, wishing he was already back at his place seated in front of his computer and not in the middle of the forest. A chancellor. The woman standing before him was no ordinary fae.  He wondered if she would try to pet him like a dog in the same way that the spring chancellor liked to run his fingers through Alek’s hair. He began to question as to whether or not he would let her. “Lain Solus. Just some lycan,” Lain offered lamely with a shrug, digging his hands into the pockets of his hoodie.  

...

“Or something,” Robin says dryly, a wry smile on her lips to hide the sudden bout of darkness on her eyes at the reminder of the hunter’s betrayal. She had built herself up from how he had left her, bleeding out on the forest floor to save his own skin, but that did not make her forget. She would never forget, even if she is aware she will have to feign forgiveness if she wants to make further use. Feign forgiveness or truly forgive him, for she knows herself and knows that the human holds a soft spot for her. Still, her duties to the Court trump even that forgiveness, and she had already put him above her people’s safety once. As a Chancellor she cannot do it again. Even if she did end up forgiving Wade, she would still use him to destroy the Eye. The thought dims her smile for a moment, before she focuses back to the lycan in front of her. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Solus,” she tells him, head tilting to examine him more closely now that the business side of the conversation had been over and done with. “I would like to argue about your comment however,” she continues, a playful drawl on her lips as she keeps meeting his eyes. “After all, you are the only lycan that can get me what I want and that is something I truly appreciate. Is there anything I could do for you as a thanks?”

wintersaurora​:

❅

“Sound argument,” she concedes with boredom, only because it was still oddly strange to ever think to start demanding things of Robin like her superior. Not only because she had no current jurisdiction to do so, Winter to Autumn, but Aurora had slept with a sprinkling of fey throughout her lifetime and the autumn noble had been the only one who knew her prior to Chancellorship. They matured together in a sense, the same generation with the same beliefs. It kept an unspoken understanding in their odd, aloof friendship. No matter the distance and time, things always seemed to eventually circle back into two teenagers of equal standing and nobility. “If I was ever unsteady with my power and influence, perhaps, but you’re too far from my Court to understand. There’s no need for apologies,” she meant, since Robin hadn’t actually done anything to harm. Though Aurora always appreciated any gesture of goodwill. “I simply regret the misunderstanding. You were aggressively caring.” It was well-intentioned teasing spoken with borderline seriousness, but Robin would understand the delivery of the Winter fey’s very often cold humour. A strange bond they’d had. The younger fey shaped and created from birth for leadership, matured too quick, and the slightly older but free-spirited fey. It was Robin’s determined sense of order and justice from the very beginning that allowed them to relate despite differences.

At the consideration of overstepping, Aurora simply nodded appreciatively to the apology - if only because it was for Raja. “You’re telling me,” she replied with a sigh as the conversation led to Fen’harel. But perhaps Aurora did not want to get into the topic of the one she felt had betrayed her trust. Not right now. The Winter Chancellor still had some ways to go before she found the kindness to forgive the part of it that she could forgive. “On the other hand, I did want to congratulate you on your family’s recent ascent to power in the Senate.” There was the ghost of a smile on her face now. “I suppose whatever your relation is to Senator Leal Acosta, niece might be the easiest to name it. Did you know?”

...

“I do suppose there are quite the number of differences between Autumn and Fall, despite the closeness of our seasons,” she ends up agreeing, not desiring to drag the fight further than she had already done. It is rather useless to argue about something they both agree upon, after all, useless and a waste of time brought forth by the slightest of miscommunications. Their friendship, odd as it has been due to Robin’s exploration of the Otherworld and her tendency to wander around in between schemes, was an old one, a strong one. It had survived many thing, even before Aurora had been granted Chancellorship, and thus she did understood the Winter eladrin, even if sometimes she forgot to use that understanding in the middle of a conversation. She blames the six years she had spent majorly in the mortal realm, focused on her thesis and not much else. “As always, you mean. I do have to admit that my tendency for confrontation tends to be rather at odds with my usual personality, does it not?”

The comment about Fen’harel makes her curious, as she is well aware of the two Chancellor’s friendship, but Robin is aware she has pried too much for one evening, and lets the topic pass her by rather than grabbing and examining it as she wants.

“Oh? The new senator is of noble decent? Now that is interesting,” there is a smile dancing on her face as she leans closer to Aurora to emphasize her curiosity. Distant as the bond is, family is family, and after Lauma, she will cherish them all. “Now, now. Which of my cousins went and fell in love with a human this time?”

yaviefey​:

-

Yavie wasn’t having nearly as much fun as he wished he was. Everyone looked nice in their costumes, maybe not as good as him, but not everyone could pull off a pumpkin like him. “Have you ever been in love, Robin?” Yavie asked, his voice a stranger as it fell through the mouthole of the pumpkin that sat on his neck.

...

“Yes,” Robin admits with a shrug, mind going back to William and Anne, and the many paramours she has had over the years. She has loved them all, in different ways, but all of them were meaningful. There has been no one true love, but there is time for that right? Beings as long-lived as them could afford the wait. “Although I don’t know if my definition of love and yours are exactly the same.”

"She is doing surprisingly well," Robin agrees with a hum as she settles next to Assan, offering him one of the drinks she had gotten for them once she was sitting down. Brown eyes settle on Lucas' performance of Hamlet and she tilts her head in consideration. It is truly amazing work, of the sort she had rarely seen in other theaters and as abnormal as the catching choices are, they are all giving their all. It is impressive, and she is sure William would be appreciative of their hard work. "I remember that, it was a rather interesting evening, wasn't it?"

@senatusstarters location: the FUNCTION notes: using his telepathy for one event only

Assan spoke plainly into the mind of the person sat next to him as the two enjoyed the modern Roman's interpretation of a timeless classic. "Lilith is a very good Ophelia," all the actors were surprisingly talented, Nabi as the Ghost of Hamlet's Father was surprising casting - and the necromancer as Hamlet's mother was certainly a choice, but Assan had to give it to every one of them. "I saw the original when it was still being performed by the Lord Chamberlain's men." He recounted, Robin had been a big fan of all Shakespeare's work - kind of a fangirl. Assan sat with an overflowing plate of snacks, uncharacteristically sharing with the person next to him.

assanx​:

-

“Tuna.” Please. Assan said as he folded his hands behind his head and walked forward with Robin at his side, head tilted towards the sun. It was so warm in Italy, especially with summer just around the corner. That suited Assan’s temperament perfectly since he was most fond of sleeping outside, sometimes under the stars, sometimes in a cat nap somewhere on a rooftop. Occasionally he slipped into another’s home and snagged their couch or their bed. Dungeons & Dragons were fun, the tiefling was clearly the most superior choice - getting everyone together was a hassle though and Assan never had the motivation. That was on Robin and Rawlins’ shoulders. There was something bothering him and it wasn’t any human with a gun, he’d come to Rome for a reason but everything he thought of just felt like so much work. He looked towards Robin from the corner of his eye, “Salmon?” Are they making you nervous?

...

“I do have a rather time consuming job, you know,” Robin says dryly at Assan’s dismissal. Planning meet ups had fallen upon the cambion’s shoulder, at the end, as any free time that Robin found herself having was devoted to personal projects or meets up with those she cared for. On occasion, she would help Rawlins with organizing, but with the forest closing it’s borders, it would be impossible for her to host unless it is on her apartments within Rome and she would rather those remained secret to most aside of Assan and a few others. At least for now. She shares a brief look with Assan at his question and inclines her head ever so slightly. “I have never found pleasure on their presence, and their overt displays of power do not bode well for Rome, now that they have been foolish enough to work with them.”

who? @yaviefey​

where? near hell’s bell

“I am aware that the Faerie King’s Forest is not the same as the Courts, but you are missed Yavie.” The words are said simply as she comes to stand near her fellow autumn fey, looking around curiously as she tries to figure out if he has been staying nearby or not. “Additionally, I must apologize, I have not been a great friend for the last couple of months and I regret it. Let me make it up to you?”

Ambrose & Prudence in “Lupercalia”

END

"The slow decay never stops, but with it comes the birth of new life," she whispers, more to herself than to her fellow Chancellor, a fond smile of her own as she keeps her gaze on the golden splendor before her. One must die and die and die, before they can live, just as she had been told on her confirmation ritual. She had learned that lesson intimately as nature consumed her and reshaped her over and over again, and learned it once more when buried along the roots, but it was easy to forget, when face with the enormity of their losses, of their grief. So many had died, sacrificed themselves for a better future for the courts, and that future has yet to arrive, for they are the ones that will be building it up from nothing. There is a reason that for as much as she does not understand Zahrya, she respects him. He is doing his part, building the future they deserve, and she can only thank him for that. "It will be hard work, reaching that future, but I look forward for that toil," she admits, even as a bemused smile spreads and she sends him an arched look. "I am beyond delighted to receive your invitation, I will not miss such a high honor."

"Is it a mimosa if it does not have orange juice or merely another cocktail?" She muses, expression airy and friendly as she walks closer next to the Winter Chancellor and snaking her hands around her arm, squeezing the muscle there reassuringly as she keeps to the other's pace. It is the other's season, even as their duties and domains of influence have changed, and she is more than willing to bend to Aurora's whims if it means she forgets her duties for one afternoon. It's what the other deserves, after all the heartache said duties had place upon her shoulders. "That, I can do. In exchange, would you indulge me in some gossiping?"

"Well, there's bound to be seasonal mimosas over there," Aurora offered, mustering a smile over. She wanted to be in a great mood despite things lingering below the surface. There was a lot to be thankful and happy about but a couple things still sobered Aurora joy, namely the deaths of her mother and Titania as well as her Warder's unrest. But in favor of the Solstice and all that was going well, the Lunar Chancellor visibly made an effort not to let anything weigh on her.

"Saturnalia Market it is. I think it's important to see what else the world has managed to invent with peppermint flavor... as long as we avoid politics for one night." It was an odd and uncharacteristic request from the business-orientated Chancellor. But if Aurora focused on the lovely celebrations she figured her mood would lift more and more.