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Midnight Fathoms (DragonSong)

Started by quaggan, March 23, 2018, 03:51:29 PM

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quaggan

 It was a nice, warm Serenian night. Quite a relief - the silk ensemble Coriander was wearing did not provide a lot of warmth. The open-air reception in the gardens was a novel idea. He was looking forward to exploring it. Would he find some interesting flowers and a lovely scholar to describe their properties in detail? Maybe a telescope manned by an avid starwatcher? Perhaps he should sneak around and see if he could enter someplace he was not supposed to. There was no fun without risk, after all.

But the night was still young and he had plenty of time. The minstrels were beginning to play a popular dance, and it would be a shame to ignore their efforts. Even though Coriander mostly despised physical activities, this was one he was quite partial to. It was more about grace and skill than propensity for violence and brute force.

He glanced around the main courtyard, only to spot quite an intriguing woman. Was it the ambassador's daughter? He didn't know she returned from Thanatos already. He really should work on his gossip network a bit more! Either way, it was an opportunity, and he was not the kind to let one pass him by. What was the worst thing that could happen? He could get rejected, but he was certain that his ego could take the hit.

"I don't believe we've been introduced" he began, performing a bow that wouldn't be out of place on an illustration in an etiquette textbook. "I am Elethain Coriander. Might you be the child of Ambassador Moonglade I've heard about?"

DragonSong

Barely three days back in Serendipity, and here she was at yet another social function. Not normally one to complain, of course- typically she enjoyed such events- Kana couldn't deny that this particular evening she was just tired.

So she made a bit of a wallflower of herself; for one night only, she promised herself. It was not exactly an easy task, dressed as she was in a layered gown of gold and violet silk. The style was Serenian, but with a certain amount of Thanati "flair" to it, in the embroidery and the cut of the collar and sleeves.

She was just a bit taken aback when a young man she didn't entirely recognize approached her. She'd thought she'd been doing a decent enough job of keeping a low profile, eye-catching clothing aside. She did straighten up and smile politely at him though, returning his bow with an elegant, well-practiced curtsy.

"Master Coriander, a pleasure," she murmured sweetly, glancing up at him through her lashes. Her makeup too had been done in a way that harkened to her Thanati roots, bold red lines bordering her eyes and sweeping out to the sides, lips painted a deep burgundy. "I believe you're right- I can't quite recall having ever been formally introduced. And yes, Ambassador Moonglade is my father."

She smiled and held out her hand delicately. "My name is Kana."

quaggan

 Interesting. As she spoke, his mind worked, trying to put the picture together. Her dress definitely hinted at her connection to Thanatos, but the style followed the recent fashion. She must have had contacts in the capital, or just uncanny ability to predict how would the trends develop. And yet, this charming, talented young woman of high birth and excellent etiquette was doing here? If there was some kind of scandal that made everyone unwilling to dance with her, Coriander was sure he would have heard of it.

If he put his mind to it, perhaps he could have figured out the answer to this mystery, but he preferred action to overthinking. And it would be insulting towards Lady Moonglade to so openly prefer the contents of his own mind to her company.

"May I have this dance?" he asked, bowing.

DragonSong

Ah, yes. A dance.

"Of course." Kana smiled and took his hand, allowing him to lead her onto the floor. She smiled a little wryly and murmured, "I must admit I've been on the islands so long it's entirely possible the dances that I know are all out of fashion by now. You shall have to bare with me."

In contrast to her words, her movements were graceful and sure, flowing easily with the music and the steps of the dance, whether it was foreign to her or not. She tried to maintain eye contact, knowing it was the polite thing to do, though she couldn't help glancing at the table of refreshments that they glided by.

What I wouldn't give just for some soothing tea and a warm bed... But that was hardly the proper attitude to have at such a function, so she pushed it from her mind.

quaggan

 "I fear you may have overestimated the speed at which the progress marches" he commented. "Well, Lady Veresta has been trying, but she can't quite get the choreography down."

And speaking of choreography, something was off. Did someone plant insomnia orchids in the garden? What if one of his enemies bribed his servants to cover his new clothes in slowshroom spores? It wasn't just him - Lady Moonglade also didn't look that well-

Oh. But of course. He would kick himself for being so slow-witted, but dancing and kicking at the same time was far beyond his capabilities. He really should have put it together faster - after all, he knew that the ambassador's family returned home just recently, and while he has never been to Thanatos, a friend of his mentioned that getting accustomed to a different climate took a lot of time. And here he was, bothering Lady Moonglade like a complete idiot.

He stopped in the middle of a dance, garnering confused looks from people around him. "My apologies, Lady Moonglade" he spoke. "My regrettable lack of insight left me blind to your predicament, and led me to undertaking thoughtless actions. I shan't demand any more dances from you, but if you would permit me to impose upon your presence a while longer, perhaps I could get you some refreshments to apologize?" Most nobles had their servants carry trays to offer food and drink to the guests, but their host made a mistake of overreaching herself and inviting more people that her staff could serve.

DragonSong

"Oh." Kana's eyes widened and her cheeks blushed pink. She cleared her throat an admitted with a nervous little laugh, "I'm afraid you've caught be a bit off-guard, Master Coriander. I did not realize I was so easily seen through."

She felt a little guilty that he'd noticed her discomfort...but not so much that she wanted to turn down his offer. A smaller smile, though perhaps a more genuine one, curved at her lips and she dipped her head to him gratefully.

"Some refreshment would be wonderful actually, thank you. Though I wouldn't dream of asking you to fetch and carry, I'll come with you." She linked her arm through his and smiled up at him sweetly.

quaggan

 He felt a few eyes glaring at him as they were leaving the dance floor. Not too much of course, and if someone disliked his interruption enough to stick a knife into his back, it would be a fun way to meet someone new.

They made it to the refreshments table that stood modestly next to the hedge. "I'd offer you something, but I'm afraid my knowledge of the host's wine cellar is... subpar. I suppose I should send my army of covert spies to keep tabs on what every single lord and lady brings out for their guests" he commented. He really didn't have an army of covert spies, but that would be nice, wouldn't it?

"Let's see... There's Summer Bloom, an eternal classic, one might even say that it's getting boring... If you have a preference for white wine, Lady Moonglade, I would recommend Soulstoke 876 - a crisp and refreshing taste." Pity everything here was alcoholic, the last thing he wanted was to be accused of trying to get the ambassador's daughter drunk! There was always the water fountain a bit to the side, but it probably wasn't for drinking.

DragonSong

"That seems like a bit of a hassle, doesn't it?" Kana chuckled in response to his comment about an army of spies. Her eyes flickered appraisingly over the offered refreshments- and a slightly mischievous glint lit behind her gaze.

"Summer Bloom isn't all that boring, if you know a few tricks," she said with a wry grin. She glanced around to make sure no one was paying much attention to them, then flicked a hand out to snatch a strawberry garnish off some sort of tart. With her other hand she delicately took a glass of wine, then bit into the berry, held it in her mouth for a moment, then took a sip of the wine and swallowed.

She smiled at Coriander and snatched up another strawberry, holding it up to his lips with a playful little wink. "Try it. It brings out the fruit undertones." She proffered the glass of wine in her other hand, almost challenging.

She certainly felt much more alert.

quaggan

 Now he was intrigued! As much as he liked to pretend to be an expert on noble art of feasting and indulgence, there was still a lot he had to learn, and it appeared that today he would find out something interesting. He was always up for trying new things, and if it was tasty, all the best. If it was poisoned, at least the courtyard stone was clean so he wouldn't ruin his clothing while crumbling to the floor.

"You're right!" he exclaimed. "I never would have thought one small fruit can make such a big difference! Next time I throw a revel, I will make sure to have a good supply of those! Is it a Thanati custom to take fresh fruits with wine? I'm afraid I've never been there, though I suppose it has its own tradition of drinking. Some things never change."

DragonSong

"You should try sake," Kana laughed softly, taking another sip of her wine. "It's a rice alcohol native to the islands, best served warm."

She placed the glass to the side and mused, "I don't think strawberries would pair well with it, but I suppose it's something you could try." She was feeling much more sociable- funny how a little bit of wine and some pleasant company would do that.

"I think I'd be up for that dance now," Kana offered with a small, almost sheepish smile, "if you still feel so inclined."

quaggan

 "I've heard about it" he confessed. "Apparently it's very potent, one small cup is enough to get a person drunk." His sister mentioned in one of her letters that one time their captain got them some foreign alcohol to celebrate their victory. That was one fast way to get hammered. Visti kept some just in case she wanted to take down a peg some idiot who was too confident in his strong head.

"Rice, potatoes, grapes... the ability of people of Le'raana to turn pretty much anything into an intoxicant is truly amazing" he commented. And equally was amazing what a glass of wine could do for one person's strength. "I never thought that old Summer Bloom could restore one's vitality so quickly - or is it the strawberry?"

A more socially adept person would take Lady Moonglade up on her offer immediately, but if he left this matter alone, the curiosity would keep him up at night. "If this combination is a pick-me-up efficient enough to give you strength to dance, why not start the party with a glass? That would make handling any fools like me much more bearable, wouldn't it?"

DragonSong

The ambassador's daughter laughed and tilted her head to the side. "Perhaps. Though before you approached me I was actually hoping to avoid much interaction at this party," she admitted with a small smirk. "Though I must admit you've intrigued me, Master Coriander. May I call you Elethain?"

She reached out to take his hand again, leading him back toward the music and dancers.

quaggan

 Fair enough - the refreshments table was one place the other nobles were certain to frequent, and probably chat up each other. He imagined that Lady Moonglade would be more popular than him, due to the position her father held. Some sheltered aristocracts who've never been outside the city longed to hear the stories of the exotic Thanatos, and some more pragmatic probably could come up with a way to use her in their nefarious schemes.

Coriander wished he could come up with a nefarious scheme.

"But of course. It would be a pleasure" he responded. "And I'm glad to serve as a deterrent of further social interaction. What about the old good 'oh, my lord father is going to introduce me to a suitor, he would prefer that I don't speak with other young men-slash-women' excuse? After all, since Ambassador Moonglade is usually working away in Thanatos, he is unlikely to set them straight... although I imagine it would cause problems the second you chose to socialise and someone would bring it up." He didn't mind people calling him out on his lies - if he messed up and someone noticed, he deserved it - but he didn't know if Lady Moonglade shared his belief.

DragonSong

"You're not entirely wrong," Kana replied as she laid one hand gently on his shoulder and took his free hand with the other. "My father certainly wouldn't have much time to deter such falsehoods- were they falsehoods- but I find that weaving such webs more often than now entangle oneself rather than the desired prey."

She shrugged with a small smile and twirled easily through the bars of the dance. "And honestly, on most evenings I'd be more than happy to engage with such flirtations," she added with a playful wink. "It's one of the most enjoyable aspects of my position, to be honest. It would be rather counter-intuitive to create a fictional suitor then, wouldn't it?"

quaggan

 That was impressive. As much as Coriander enjoyed both weaving and navigating the webs of deceit, he couldn't help but admire those who refused to. There was some kind of admirable confidence in declaring that one was capable enough to deal without the valuable help of lies. It was a statement that held this additional weight, coming from an ambassador's daughter, someone who confessed to enjoying those social labyrinths. From any other lips, he would have dismissed it as naivete, but from her, it came as a boast of power.

"I see" he responded, letting her guide him through the dance. "I do agree that it would be counter-intuitive to choose a short-term gain that would prove to be disadvantageous in long-term. I suppose the world would be a different place if all people had the reason to make such choices."

DragonSong

"Perhaps." She shrugged. "People are people though, I find. At our core, we are all very much the same. Thanati, Serenian, Connlaothian, doesn't really matter."

She smiled and twirled away from him, then back into his arms in time with a dramatic flourish of the music. "Come then, tell me about yourself. You know who I am, you have me at a bit of a disadvantage."

quaggan

 "There isn't really a lot of interesting things, I'm afraid" he commented, taking a step back - at this point, he could just let his body go through the motions and focus on the conversation. "My family is minor nobility, made their fortune trading in spices. I have a brother who will probably inherit the leadership, oh, and an elder sister in the knights. Captain Visti Coriander, recently promoted."

DragonSong

"Well, give her my congratulations," Kana chuckled. She tilted her head just slightly to the side. "It seems odd we've never bumped into each other before at some function or another. Although I suppose I am often away."

That teasing glint came back to her eyes as the steps of the dance drew her in against his chest for a moment. "A shame I've missed out on such delightful company, it seems."

quaggan

 Was she talking about him, or his family? He supposed he could answer the latter. "I'm afraid I'm the only one with a social life in the Coriander family. "My father is working on raising my brother into a good heir, so I suppose they'd only attend the select social gatherings. My mother is busy running the family business, and Visti... well, she hates the intrigue and scheming. She rarely returns home to Arca, she prefers to be out there fighting the protect the good people of Serendipity. I think she'd rather go to a dragon's nest rather than a party."

DragonSong

She laughed lightly and twirled into a graceful dip, one arm around Elethain's shoulders as she looked up at him.

"I suppose I can't entirely blame her," she giggled. "I've been to my share of parties where a dragon or two certainly would have improved the atmosphere."

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