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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 6, 2014 19:30:36 GMT -6
"First, I would like to introduce everyone to eachother." Titus spoke as he presented both arms and gave a cough to stop Pearl. "I'll start with my family, from the front and down. First is Cornelia Caesarii, my lovely wife, then is Graecius Caesarius, my first son, whom you have already met, then there's Pollux, my brother and close friend, then Herimmus, who adopted me when I was in the military, and finally, Hestus. Graecius found him as a baby left on our doorstep, and we've raised him as our own."
Each of them gave a short visual presentation as their names were said, with the exception of Hestus, who just shied away a bit.
"May I introduce my family?" Arcturus asked as he cracked his knuckles under the table.
"Of course." Titus responded with a slight chuckle. "I don't know them."
"Well, you all should know who Elia is, since this is in her honor." Arcturus started as he moved his arms to present her to the others. "My name is Arcturus, and I'm a student at Grangold. This is Pearl, who's my friend. She's a water nymph whom I met in a lake to the far north of here. We became fast friends, and she lives with us because she doesn't have any other home. Please don't mind her. She knows very little about Cleatian customs. Finally, this is Barbas Galatine, my father. He's a blacksmith, and I believe he's made weapons for your army before. He's from the highlands in the land controlled by the Jorkun Pact, but has traveled across the world with an Alibaban caravan."
"Well, I'm glad that we've all gotten to know eachother." Titus followed up as he raised a wine glass. "I propose a toast to Elia Arrington, our new daughter!"
All of the royals along with both Arcturus and Barbas raised their wine glasses before drinking it out of respect.
This tastes awful.
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 6, 2014 19:43:57 GMT -6
So, two brothers, one who is adopted as well. Alright, now I know who everyone is.
Elia just smiled and nodded to the family as a way to acknowledge that she had memorized their names, and was happy to meet them.
This is so weird, and I'm acting like I'm happy, but I'm not even sure how I really feel. I just need to grin and bear it.
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Post by SwordMasterEX on Feb 6, 2014 20:09:00 GMT -6
As pearl rips the flesh off the bone, she hears a cough coming form Titus. He sure looks peeved about something. Oh, is it because I'm eating? But isn't that the purpose of a banquet? Well I guess I should stop then. After everyone nearest the emperor receives their introduction, Arcturus introduces Pearl. She's about to get up and do her own interpretation of a visual presentation when everyone lifts up a glass of wine. Pearl has never had alcohol before. She almost pukes upon drinking it. The smell and taste fill her head with a dizzying effect as she chokes it down. Getting up a little woozily, she leans back slightly, puts her left hand over her right elbow with a pointing finger and makes a symbol with her other hand by folding in her index and ring fingers, "Pearl Jam glad meet Cough Man! We eat now?"
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 6, 2014 20:14:01 GMT -6
"Pearl?" Arcturus wondered as she stood up and did some stranger gesture. "Pearl. Peeeaaaarl. Could you please sit down?"
Arcturus took a quick moment to look at Titus, who was actually quite amused, while Pollux on the other hand was not.
Please don't ruin this chance.
He grabbed her arm and pulled her back into her chair before turning to her and speaking.
"Pearl, this is Emperor Titus Caesarius." he told her as he tried to steady her. "Please refer to him as such."
"No, it's quite alright." Titus smiled a bit in amusement. "She's not from around here. Maybe she could take this as a lesson how and how not to act in such situations?"
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 6, 2014 20:21:43 GMT -6
If Elia could have slid down in her chair to avoid being seen, she would have.
This is going to be a disaster...
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Post by SwordMasterEX on Feb 6, 2014 20:24:30 GMT -6
Jam took another gulp from her wine glass. She turned to Arcturus with a heavy blush, "Master, Jam feel funny after try Wine. Always happen like this? Jam feel like at pond again." She stares at him with lustful eyes. Ignoring everyone else for the most part.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 6, 2014 20:31:31 GMT -6
"Uh, Pearl, I think you should probably leave." He spoke as he stood up and grabbed her arm.
This won't end well if you don't.
Pulling her up, he walked over to the portal and opened it, walking through with Pearl. Once they had gone through, Arcturus gave a sigh of relief before closing the portal.
"Okay Pearl." he spoke as he sat down in a nearby chair. "Wine can make you feel that way, so let's just wait it out until the effect is gone."
Okay, note to self. Never give her alcohol.
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 6, 2014 20:52:36 GMT -6
Is there anything I can do to make this less awkward?
Elia just moved the ring she was wearing around as she thought, and then straightened up the necklace she was wearing.
Still can't think of anything...
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 6, 2014 21:28:52 GMT -6
"Elia, what can you tell us about yourself?" Cornelia asked with a curious and gentle tone of voice belying her true thoughts.
I can't believe he had the nerve to replace her. She was a disgrace, to have been born of a servant, yet she was his favorite.
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 6, 2014 21:50:03 GMT -6
"Well, I learned to sew and cook while living at the monastery. I love reading, so I'll probably be in the library quite often. And I really don't like fighting."
And my family...
Elia started to get a little choked up as she continued, now speaking about her family and trying her hardest not to picture them as being dead.
"I had a younger brother and a sister, they were twins. Mother was the kindest person you could ever meet, and I always wanted to be like her. My father owned a quarry in the mountains near my village, and that's how he provided for us. And my village..." she had to stop for a moment to keep herself together, "it was in the middle of a huge, beautiful meadow, with dozens of different types of flowers."
How... how do I even start talking about Jacob? I don't know...
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 6, 2014 21:57:19 GMT -6
"That sounds wonderful." Hestus sent his thoughts into Elia's head, making clear that it was his thoughts and not her own. "There aren't very many flowery meadows around here. The closest I can get is the courtyard, but it's very small. You seem like a nice person."
He meekly smiled at Elia before grabbing a small piece of beef with his fork and setting it on his plate.
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 6, 2014 22:03:30 GMT -6
Elia nearly jumped out of her chair when Hestus used his magic to send his thoughts into her head. But once she realized what was happening, she quickly calmed down.
It was. It really was, and I wish you could have seen it. So, you're a Type-4? You seem to be very powerful already, Hestus.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 6, 2014 22:16:27 GMT -6
"Well, telepathy is pretty simple, plus, you were vulnerable for a second." he admitted as he slowly lifted a small bite of beef to his mouth. "I hope you'll forgive me for taking advantage of your weakness. It's just that I hardly get to talk to anyone, and it's really hard to hold a conversation when someone practically broadcasts their thoughts. Anyways, fair warning, Cornelia isn't necessarily pleased with you. She sees you as a replacement for Caesaria, whom she never liked. You see, Caesaria was born from one of Titus' servants, and Cornelia was jealous that he payed more attention to his daughter than to her."
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 6, 2014 22:24:38 GMT -6
A replacement? That's all she sees me as?
Elia took a second to shake off that thought, although she tried her best not to let the others see any change in her expression.
Well, thank you for the warning. And I'm not mad, Hestus, it's only natural for you to try and use your magic. It's good practice. But... I better not catch you reading my mind when I'm trying to decide what to get you for your birthday, or else!
Elia was joking about that last part, and the tone of her thoughts made that clear. She began to eat some of the food as well, and found it to be much better than most of the dishes she had eaten since coming to Shaldra, better than pretty much everything she had tried before, actually.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 6, 2014 22:34:54 GMT -6
"I won't." Hestus responded, not getting the joke. "Anyways, father means well. He really does believe that the similarities between you and Caesaria aren't coincidence though. He wants to succeed in raising you as atonement for failing his real daughter. He's had fits of grief over it, and you may catch him in such a fit. You are the key to not just his sanity, but to the safety of Cleatia as a whole."
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 6, 2014 22:43:31 GMT -6
That's... a lot of pressure. So this whole thing, bringing me here, is really just to ease his mind about Caesaria? All because he could never really finish the grieving process, and is still in denial?
Elia was having more trouble trying to keep a normal expression, but she kept it up anyway. As shocking as it was hearing all of that, she was thankful Hestus was being truthful.
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 6, 2014 22:50:15 GMT -6
"It might be." Hestus told her as he looked at Titus who was telling a joke to Graecius. "But I wouldn't think about that. You should just try to get to know the people around here. Most of the servants are kind, with a few exceptions, and Graecius is very kind and loves a competition. Try to outdo him in anything and he won't let it go. He will get better than you at whatever you do best, but he means well. He just feels inadequate sometimes."
He looked down at a platter of chicken to see that Herimmus had used his necromancy to cause it to dance.
"That's actually pretty funny."
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Post by GX1997 on Feb 6, 2014 23:01:17 GMT -6
That is one of the oddest things I've seen. And yet, it's very entertaining compared to this banquet.
Elia went back to eating, although she found herself unable to eat the chicken she had after that.
It's nice talking to you, Hestus. I look forward to getting to know you better. And thank you for your honesty.
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Post by SwordMasterEX on Feb 7, 2014 0:54:08 GMT -6
"Tee hee, Jam think Master look very cute. What master think of Jam?" She bats her eyelashes at him before turning to her water form. Except, she was a magenta color rather than blue. A voice reached Arcturus through his curse mark, but it wasn't Alucard's.
"For the love of, Tell me you didn't let her drink alcohol? You know Water Nymphs function different from humans, right? We don't have filters for it! The stuff just passes right through our system! It. Works. Instantly. Listen to me carefully, and I won't hunt you down. Get her to clean, natural water. Fast. I'll direct you from there."
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Post by Golurkcanfly on Feb 7, 2014 6:47:53 GMT -6
Okay, voice-who-I-don't-know-who-it-belongs-to. Where do you need me to go?
"You're very beautiful." Arcturus told Pearl as he awaited a response from the voice. "However, I need to get you to some fresh water."
---
"You're welcome." Hestus replied with a smile.
"Yo!" Graecius raised his fist to get Elia's attention. "Do you want to go to a bar with me later today?"
"Don't worry." Hestus told her as he rested his head in his palms. "He's not trying to ask you out or anything. It's because you don't look comfortable here, so you might enjoy a more... rustic atmosphere."
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