Turning Obligation into Opportunity [Private - Emri]

Sko rose early, that day, startled awake by an overwhelming feeling of unfamiliarity.

He had been briefly disoriented by the cream walls that decidedly did not belong to his own room, before his mind finally deigned to remind him, none too kindly, of the arduous trip he had undertaken the previous day. The twin Stormcaller rulers had caught hold of him before he could scamper to some unknown spot (as he usually did and they probably knew), requesting that he pay them a visit as soon as he could. All this was conveyed by a very frantic Caramina, who professed her worry that he'd already left the Palace.

As it turned out, he was to be sent on yet another delivery. This time, he was entrusted with the following:

i. A message; and
ii. Two thick tomes, which, upon closer inspection, revealed themselves to be worn and slightly battered, with their covers bound tightly by a slim red ribbon. Their combined weight hadn't been forgiving on the journey to Vuari, but, well. That was in the past, and things could've gone far worse. He'd arrived expecting to be sent off after he had done what he came to do, though, mercifully, the intervention of a dragon who seemed to be the Vuari prince decided otherwise, and he had been grateful to collapse right onto the soft nest-like structure that occupied most of the room.

But that was yesterday.

The overwhelming sense of foreignness was back again as he wandered the corridors, which simultaneously reminded him of home and were vastly different. In the place of windows were tapestries, and the more he walked, the more lost he seemed to be getting. Which was unfortunate, he mused to himself, before catching sight of a rather grand archway, opening into a circular room occupied mainly by winding stairs that led upwards. Hoping he'd end up on the roof or at the very least a ledge, Sko made his way up, up, until at last the stairs stopped at a door, which he pushed open with some force - the door seemed to be sealed shut by age and grime, aided by considerable weight and perhaps a dose of magic? - and there it was: a view of the Vuari.

The Vuari Palace was located on a mountain, and if he disregarded the fact that he occasionally felt sick to the stomach - the high altitude was truly a hospitable host - the view was simply breathtaking; below him stretched a new landscape, rows upon rows of buildings, interspersed by occasional patches of jade or forest green.

Content, he settled down, the silence of the morning a balm on his nerves, waiting for the sun to rise, and for the inevitable summons.

Cassius hadn't slept well the previous night; in fact, he barely slept at all. He suspected that most of his insomnia was a result of the books that messenger had delivered yesterday. He very rarely left the palace, let alone the city, so any new reading material was well worth the wait. Especially if they came all the way from the Stormcallers.

But nevertheless, he had business to attend to. It was his own fault for staying up all night, he shouldn't let his bad decisions affect his ability to fulfill his duties. The messenger who delivered his books yesterday seemed exhausted. It simply wasn't polite to send away a guest, especially when said guest was an exhausted messenger who just brought a pair of valuable tomes to be added to your personal library.

So, that was why he found himself roaming the west corridors. He concluded that such a delivery deserved a personal check-in, and had checked the room given to him, but found it empty. One of the servants pointed him towards the far west portion of the palace, so that was where he found himself. After dropping by the kitchens and grabbing a plate of pastries, he was eventually directed up one of the old lookout towers.

Although Cass wasn't the strongest individual, Sko had loosened the door enough to where he could also pry it open; albeit with a very loud and painful screech. He winced slightly at the noise before clearing his throat, "Ah, Skonis- correct? Enjoying the view?" He moved forward and set the plate down on the low wall next to him before leaning on the wall himself and gazing out at the slowly rising sun. Brilliant reds and oranges played across the snowy mountain tops and chased away the pre-dawn grey.

(Thinking about it, I think this is the first site roleplay I involved Sko in.)

The sky had only just shaken off the vestiges of early morning when Sko thought he heard footsteps beyond the door; at first he thought it was simply his imagination playing tricks on him, but as the thudding grew louder he grew tenser, chancing nervous peeks at the heavy wooden door, which had left a curved scratch atop the smooth grey stone, faint but visible. He winced at the sight, before the budging of said door in its frame, a puff of dust emanating from its worn surface, drew his attention, and he watched, wary and wondering who it could be, as the door finally swung open with an ear-grating screech to reveal a familiar figure - the Vuari prince.

Sko stared in a mixture of astonishment and wariness as the prince, carrying a platter of steaming food, moved with a regal grace to sit next to him and gaze out at the distance. He remained silent for a few stunned seconds before managing to summon enough presence of mind to say, "Yeah," and didn't elaborate; Sko had never, and will never be chatty.

As the silence hung over them, Sko preoccupied himself with remembering all he could about Vuari formality, but drew a blank; he couldn't remember the prince's name either, to his dismay, but he shrugged it off. It wasn't like he'd be staying here long. Lovely as the Vuari was, and far colder than the Stormcallers' territory, he was beginning to miss home, the winding passages dotted with grand windows. So he didn't add anything more, remaining silent, watching the nearby town slowly wake with the rising of the sun.

(Oh cool! I'm glad to be part of his site initiation then XD)

Cassius let the silence build after Sko's comment; although he was comfortable among the babble of his father's court, it was a refreshing change of pace to be able to let silence like this blossom. He looked out on the sunrise as a cold breeze gusted past, ruffling his feathers and instinctively causing his fur to fluff out slightly. After a few minutes of this, without turning to look at him, Cass took one of the steaming cinnamon pastries and slid the platter closer to Sko, "One of the maids said you hadn't eaten yet, go ahead. They won't bite."

The silence blossomed again afterwards as Cassius slowly dissected the pastry with almost surgical precision, not getting himself sticky at all; it was hard to tell if whether it was just plain experience or some sort of magical effect, but nevertheless, he was one neat dragon. Not a single scale or feather out of place, his veritable hoard of adornments were perfectly placed and polished, albeit there were several personal reason for being so well adorned, this was obviously a dragon who had a reputation to uphold.

After a moment, Cassius turned slightly to study Sko for a moment, the sunrise glinting off of his odd blue-gold eyes. It was fairly easy to tell that he didn't know much about the usual formalities, but Cass wouldn't complain if there wasn't another dragon bowing and scraping every time he entered the room. Respect was one thing, he appreciated the respect his position granted him; but once you've heard one groveling noble you're heard them all. "Do you know why I appreciate the mountains?"

[My bad for the late-ish reply, I've been kept busy by life. D: ]

Skonis sat stiffly as the seconds ticked by in silence, staring straight ahead at the slanting mountains, yet not quite seeing anything; amid the whirl of discomfort and the muted panic in his mind, there was one thought that stuck out clearly: I wish Caramina was here. She'd know what to say - Caramina possessed this inexplicable ability to always find something to talk about, and her natural enthusiasm with which she spoke simply chased away any opportunities for awkwardness to set in.

Clasping his claws, Skonis forcibly relaxed his shoulders. Much as he longed to take his leave, to retreat to someplace isolated where he could spend his time amongst his thoughts, he couldn't do so without sending a silent message that said, as clearly as if it'd been uttered: I'm not comfortable in your company. No, of course not - Skonis had never been one to follow the rules of courtesy too closely, but that didn't mean he was enough of an idiot to potentially anger a dragon of high rank of a Tribe that the Stormcallers would, perhaps, ally to someday.

The Vuari Prince sliding one of the platters over to him startled Skonis out of his thoughts, and he blinked down at the steaming cinnamon pastry that sat atop it, regarding it thoughtfully for a moment, before at last he uttered a "Thank you," and lifted the pastry with his claws, seeing no alternative. He ate it as cleanly as he could, taking small but quick bites, feeling the faintest twinge of embarrassment in comparison to how neatly, how precisely the Vuari Prince consumed his own meal, but it passed quickly.

Subtly, he studied his companion from the corner of his vision, noting how the lovely orange hues cast by the rising sun glinted and played across the polished surface of the adornments that he wore, clearly arranged by a meticulous hand; he held himself upright, surrounded by an air of quiet dignity that Skonis couldn't help but be grudgingly impressed by. Perhaps it was an assumed facade, perhaps it was simply part of him; who knew.

"No," he said, then hazarded - unusually - a guess: "Is it the view that they afford, their weather, their silence, or something else entirely?"

[Aaaah no, you're fine! My bad for an EXTREMELY late reply!]

Cassius winced internally, nearly reaching out to stop the other dragon before reigning in his impulses. Although it was never his intention to force anything on Skonis, he couldn't control what the other did anymore than he could stop the sun from rising. 'Arrgh- This is why I let Shula handle all this social business...' he growled internally, but he also recognized that it was his duty to finish what he'd started. And, in this case, what he'd started was allowing a weary messenger- what seemed to be- a much needed respite.

At Sko's guess, Cassius tilted his head slightly, 'Well this is awkward...' He'd originally planned on comparing Skonis to the mountains in their sturdiness, but that "the view" comment... Maaaybe he'd just ignore that aspect and hope that Skonis didn't make the connection on his own. And maybe he'd throw on a bit more royal flair just to bury that connection even further.

So instead, Cass just chuckled and nodded, "Well yes, in part; even without a single aspect, they would not be the same. The view is nice," a slight, almost imperceptible twitch came at that, "the weather even more so, and the silence as well. But I appreciate the mountains because, unless there's some sort of world-ending disaster, I can count on the mountains to always be there. Even when they're hidden by the cloudbanks, I can always be certain that they will be there when the sun burns away the fog. They're sturdy, dependable, steadfast; just like you Skonis."

At this, Cassius rose and turned to fully face Skonis for the first time since the night before, "Cassius Azriel Raynerus Percival Aimeri the Fourth; but just Prince Cassius will do." Cass dipped his head, sliding one forepaw slightly farther back than the other, and tilting his wings forward in a formal bow. Really, the dragon with a lower rank was supposed to bow first; but, considering his obvious social standing, by going first Cass was establishing that he didn't wish for formalities to stand in between them. It was somewhat of a 'let us see each other as equals in this moment'. But, if what he suspected was true, the hidden significance would mean nothing to Sko. Ah well, not much he could do about that. "I'd like to formally thank you for your delivery yesterday."

(Hi! My bad for the EVEN LATER REPLY THAT'S HALF A YEAR LATE!!! SORRY FOR THE SHORT REPLY BECAUSE MY BRAIN IS FRANKLY- I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S DOING.)

The pause in between his question and Cassius's reply, however brief, was telling, in so many ways and yet so little. Cassius certainly held himself with poise an grace, something that Skonis could only dream of and shoddily imitate, while his clear, precise enunciation and Sko's own quiet, mumbled one were worlds apart. And yet, despite these - Cassius's regal bearing and demeanour - an air of awkwardness surrounded him still, subtle yet discernible if you were paying enough attention. It was as if Cassius had only recently learnt how to properly be a prince- or perhaps had had to truly be a prince a short while ago, and he was still in the process of slowly acclimatising.

Alternatively, he could just be reading a little too much into it. Restraining a sigh, Skonis gave Cassius's face a quick once-over, but looked away quickly before eye ocntact could be made, resting his gaze instead on the mountains that their conversation seemed to centre around now. There were far worse topics to hold a conversation over, he supposed to himself wryly, entirely missing the momentary twitch coming from Cassius's direction. They were nice, grey sihouettes disappearing into the sky, their peaks swallowed by misty clouds that the sky had yet to shake off- Remnants of its slumber. Their chill lingered in the air.

"That's fair," he was in the midst of conceding, until Cassius- Did he just say that, or did I hallucinate the entire sentence? Holy mother of the clouds. "I," he began, very intelligently, then stopped. His red eyes were wide as he turned to stare at Cassius, or at least in his general direction, and he scrambled to regain his composure for a moment, before at last his throat appeared to regain its functionality and he was able to say, "I... I thank you for the kind words, and even if I don't know where they come from, they are very much appreciated nonetheless." Was he supposed to make a comparison of his own in return? "I'm not good with words, but if I were to be the mountains, you seem like you could be the sun itself." He nodded in its direction, a rising orb of light. "You dispel the fog - the uncertainty, so to speak - allowing the mountains to display themselves in their full glory. From the way you speak and act, you seem to be in possession of a keen mind with the capacity to guide others with your wisdom."

That did not go well. Frustrated, he curled his tail around a haunch, taking care not to prick himself with the spikes that lined its tip, and internally cursed his lack of smoothness.

Cassius standing had him reflexively rising to his feet as well, and the confusion and utter astonishment on his face as Cassius bowed was plain for the world to see, startlingly transaprent in the face of his usual preferred expression of neutrality. He knew little about formalities and etiquette, or really whatever this whole... show of manners was, but common sense dictacted that the dragon of higher rank bowed last, if at all; they weren't obligated to show much respect to mere plebeians, after all. But Cassius... Perhaps... Perhaps he was humble...? It was simply in his nature, maybe? Unless there was some greater scheme at work he was unaware of, Skonis was fairly certain that this was absolutely not the norm.

He offered a bow of his own, hardly anything as polished as Cassius's - it was a simple bow of his head, angling his wings downwards as he did so. When he straightened he found himself uncomfortably locked in a staring contest with Cassius, and he gazed instead at some vague point between Cassius's eyes. "Skonis Stormflighter," he offered with as much quiet dignity as he could. "Messenger of the Stormcaller - at your service, Prince Cassius."

{H e l l o ~ AND I T'S FIIIIINE, DON'T YOU DARE APOLOGIZE- REAL LIFE COMES FIRST!! You were busy, that's all you need to say! And- honestly- that's a mood and a HALF- Brains sometimes just don't brain properly}

"O h - I-" Cassius- if a dragon could short-circuit, well, Cassius was pretty close to finding out whether or not that was possible. Sko's wide-eyed look had Cassius turning to face him, his mind IMMEDIATELY starting to work overtime on what that could possibly mean, 'Oh n o - What'd I- Oh No- Was that too much? Was I too much?? Should I have just left it at "Thank you for delivering the book, here's some pastries, there's the door"?!?'

But, when Skonis spoke up, it felt like the last vestiges of his brain cells had just suddenly migrated to the Icello region and left him gaping like a fish out of water. He just- froze, and probably would have spontaneously combusted if the laws of physics hadn't intervened on his behalf. 'I- I HAVEN'T READ ENOUGH ABOUT THIS- IS HE FLIRTING-?? IS THIS WHAT THAT FEELS LIKE??? Wait . Wait..... W a i t. WAS I FLIRTING-??? I'm- Am I flirting?? I don't- I didn't mean to- OR- DID I MEAN TO??? ~I Don't Know What To Do With These Thoughts~ I mean, I appreciate his dedication and personality..? But- he could be COMPLETELY different around his friends. And- We JUST met- How would my parents react?? ~Oooooo, "Forbidden Love"- waIT NO- RIGHT. FOCUS NOW. DECODE LATER. BESIDES, HE WAS PROBABLY JUST RETURNING MY COMMENTS. MAYBE. PROBABLY. Probably? PROBABLY.'

Of course, his exterior revealed v e r y little of the Intense Panic going on in his mind, as he just blinked in surprise; but even that tiny bit leaking through made it clear that he was Not Expecting a return compliment. At All. Really, Cassius's expression at that moment was VERY much like a deer caught in the headlights, desperately trying to wrangle his thoughts and find a way forwards. Usually it was just "oh thank you Highness," "You're too kind Highness," "I'm going to keep rattling on about what I had for breakfast until you want to claw your eyeballs out Highness", but Skonis... Skonis surprised Cassius. A lot. Even in the first 10 minutes of ACTUALLY talking to him. And, honestly, it wasn't often that Cassius got surprised; court life tended to be rather dull if you weren't interested in the latest gossip and weren't involved in the gritty decision-making process.

Cassius's position was... Rather unique. Though he was the firstborn, he had waived his claim to the throne after his accident; meaning he wasn't very involved in the actual ruling of the kingdom, but he wasn't unimportant enough to be dismissed out of hand either. So.. that largely left him floating aimlessly around court without a clear purpose. Of course, he WAS learning as much as possible so that he could assist Jin when she took the throne, buuuut not being the heir unfortunately closed many doors. Many intriguing doors. So, naturally, this fascinating messenger was not only the source of this sudden social panic Cassius was frantically trying to quell, but he also represented a break from his rather monotonous lifestyle. One that wasn't as likely to blow up in his face as some of the.. more interesting materials in his workshop were. Or... He hoped not, at least.

RIGHT- WORDS- "I-" He had to stop and clear his throat, "Well, I'm not sure I'm worthy of your words; but you can at least rest assured that mine came from a place of honest gratitude. And, if it makes you feel better- that was well spoken for someone with such little confidence in their verbal prowess." As he straightened, he found his eyes accidentally locked with Sko's, pausing a moment to search his face for any sort of hints as to how he was reacting to- all of that- before offering an easy-going smile.

"Well Skonis Stormflighter, it's a pleasure to officially make your acquaintance. I can only imagine how difficult such a long journey must have been for you. But, since you're here now," Cassius paused, debating whether or not that was a good idea... Well, he was committed now, and it didn't need to be long and drawn out if it started to get awkward- Besiiiiides! It would give Cassius an excuse to stay out of the palace and away from.. certain unsavory types he wanted to avoid. "Would you be interested in a tour of the city? If you have time that is..? I wouldn't want you to get written up on my account."

(Fiiiine, fiiine, you're rightt, BUT as you know I'm freer now, so! :3 Yeah, brains definitely don't brain properly sometimes, Cassius being the prime example of this and when they refuse to work it just suuucks >_> And! Actually short post!)

~I Don't Know What To Do With These Thoughts~

His far-from-smooth delivery of a return compliment was one thing, but the precise identity of his lone audience was another matter entirely, and a very concerning one at that. The Vuari prince might be unlike other nobility that Skonis had had the misfortune of encountering, but that didn't erase the disparity in their ranks, nor ease his apprehension of making a misstep. Suffice it to say that what came after messing up was... Highly unpleasant. Now, Skonis did not worry much by nature and preferred to let things take their course, but the silence that stretched after his mini-speech was concerning, to say the least, and the Vuari prince's expres​sion(or lack thereof) made it hard to discern where he stood right now. And so an apology surfaced from the recesses of his mind, but surely it was far too blunt and to-the-point and hardly court-appropriate...?

As Skonis struggled to reword his apology, he mentally rewound the past few minutes, searching for any potential landmines he might've accidentally set off. Invisible boundaries were hard to not cross if he was blind to them, and he could only hope Cassius wouldn't be too offended by any unintentional transgressions. The silence stretched and Skonis waited as patiently as he could, gazing out at the mountains and completely unaware of Cassius's own internal crisis.He tensed, almost imperceptibly, when the latter finally spoke, his gaze flickering back to a point between Cassius's eyes in an attempt to appear more sincere. Maybe he should've just gone home, though it'd be a pity to leave the Vuari so soon (the view was spectacular from this vantage, and undoubtedly just as beautiful from other angles as well), not to mention a total pain. Cassius himself wasn't so bad; his background just made speaking to him on equal terms a little difficult.

The next words he was greeted with took him completely by surprise. Skonis wasn't as adept as Cassius was at concealing his emotions, and they flashed across his face once more, mainly manifesting in the form of wide eyes and drawn-together eye-ridges; he was too stunned to return the smile immediately, but eventually he remembered his manners and cracked a polite one of his own, albeit small. "Mine as well," he said, then added thoughtfully, "I do not say things I do not mean. You are- You seem worthy. And... Thank you." He left it there, not seeing the need to embellish his words any further; Cassius was, after all, smiling, and he was fairly certain he was on safer grounds now. His shoulders lost some of their tension, and he couldn't help a quiet sigh of relief that Cassius would maybe catch if he was paying enough attention.

So it wasn't that bad, but he was very slightly annoyed at how quickly he'd jumped to largely baseless conclusions (in retrospect); this did not show on his face, however, but a quirked eye-ridge was. "I don't mind," he said. "I'm in no rush to get home; in any case, the message is important but not urgent, and I trust that Solarlight and Darksky would be understanding. So." He spread his wings. "Where do we begin?"

[Aaaaaaand I'm really late again TuT My bad!!]

Cassius blinked again in mild surprise, before offering yet another reassuring smile. "Thank you Skonis, your kind words mean more than you know." When Cassius's sharp eyes caught the- almost invisible- relaxing of Sko's shoulders, it sent a HUGE wave of relief through him. Was this situation more salvageable than it first appeared? Cassius dearly hoped so, Skonis was the most interesting thing to have happened to him since the last court fashion fiasco. And Cassius didn't want to be the one to scare away such a wonderfully golden opportunity to avoid the dull drudgery of court life for a few hours!!

But Skonis actually accepting Cassius's offer- He honestly hadn't expected that to work! He wasn't sure whether to be nervous, excited, happy- No. No! Look, he was a Prince. Princes didn't just "get nervous", and besides! Why would he be nervous?? Even the concept of getting nervous over showing a Stormcaller Messenger around the city was utterly preposterous. Right? Right. Totally ridiculous. Buuuut- He still hadn't completely recovered from the CATASTROPHIC failure of his brain a second ago. Maybe he had a stroke? He hadn't had one before, but he'd read about them-? Yeah. That- Yeah, SURE- It- It was totally just a medical reason. Totally. 100%. Yup.

"Splendid!! Splendid, splendid- Well!" He stepped up to the edge of the parapet as well, glancing down the loooooooong drop down the mountain beneath them; it was almost vertigo inducing, even for him. "A good starting place for any Vuarian visitor has to be the markets of course." He simply stepped off the ledge, letting himself fall for a moment, before spreading his large, partially feathery wings and turning his momentum into a series of large, slow, gliding loops above the city. Partially to make sure Skonis could catch up, and partially to signal to a couple palace guards to follow them into the city. It wasn't that he couldn't defend himself, no, he was the Kion Sage for goodness sake! The guards were merely to ward off any petty crooks who might have thought about trying their luck, should they have been alone.

Once Skonis joined him, Cassius would slowly begin the glide down to the city proper, occasionally pointing out famous landmarks and mentioning the stories behind their respective creations and importances. Then came the bustling market. And it was bustling. Cassius guided them towards a nearby rooftop to stay out of the crowd; perhaps sensing that Skonis may have been uncomfortable down there, or- the more likely option- just working off of his own aversion to crowds; and started pointing out all the best shops: food, trinkets, fabrics, masonry, art galleries, the Vuari had many, many wares to sell. "Besides the pastries earlier, you haven't had much of a breakfast, correct? Anything here striking your fancy?"