Building Bridges [Closed] - Printable Version

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Building Bridges [Closed] - SolitareLee - 11-08-2019

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RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - SolitareLee - 11-08-2019

It was everyone's favorite day, the day for open petitions of the King of Aeris.

That was deeply sarcastic. Everyone hated it, including and perhaps especially the King. Nothing put a damper on his good time like responsibility. Generally speaking, very few people got eaten, but it was an ever-present risk, so no one else particularly cared for it either, but it was a necessary thing. Governments didn't just manage themselves.

Royal Librarian Bridget Corey, who hated going to the throne room under any circumstances, was perhaps the least happy to be there of anyone in the antechamber. People were giving her a wide berth, because her ears were already upright and sharply forward and her tail was so high and stiff as to make sitting impossible. She'd had to wear a dress with a slit in the back for her tail, or it would have lifted the whole thing straight up.

She couldn't help it. She and the King were both predators, and the King was a much bigger one. Just the smell of his natural form set her off. She looked ready to fight someone, and it made the act of petitioning the King and playing the submission game incredibly difficult. He'd get her there; he always did. But she didn't have to like it. Normally, she'd talk to him when he came to the library, but he never wanted to discuss politics when he was conveniently sized, and she'd been trying to get him to hear her out for months. It was time. She had to give up and do it through proper channels.

The antechamber was full of a variety of people, citizens of Aeris mostly, both noble and common. A few foreigners, too, by the smell of them, here to ask for goodness only knew what. They were mostly pretty, with a few exceptions, so things should hopefully progress smoothly. She'd gone ten years in Aeris without seeing a single person getting eaten--she'd seen the King snap someone's neck once, but he'd deserved it--so the concept was nebulous and unrealistic to her, but she was at least aware that it was a real risk for some people.

She stood by the door, hoping to get in and out quickly as soon as they started letting people in, a few at a time, to present their petitions. She adjusted her dress and the little semi-transparent capelet that covered her shoulders--her choices in dresses were always sleeveless or extremely poofy sleeves--for the one hundredth time. Her tail waved in high, stiff arcs, and it was everything she could do to stop from bouncing in her uncomfortable heels. She normally didn't wear them this high, because she was already tall and didn't really need to be taller when the library shelves were so easy to scale. But she'd dolled up for the King, wanting this to be a one and done situation before anything could go terribly amiss. It always seemed to, when she was trying to get things from the King.

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RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Viala - 11-08-2019

This was it. The moment Tiffany Hart had waited for her entire life.

Or well, not specifically this exact moment, but she'd definitely thought about a moment very similar to it multiple times in the past. She had a lot of very different ideas about how a moment similar to this would go, but honestly it had involved a lot less waiting and a lot more sweeping dramatically into any throne room and dazzling a King with her amazing ideas for architectural improvement. It was a very nice daydream, but not a particularly realistic one, given how many nobles seemed to enjoy making people wait for them. That was one thing she'd never understood. Didn't they get bored, sitting around and looking important while people waited to talk to them? If she were a noble, she would just constantly be bored to tears if she had to make people wait for her just to keep up the pretense of being busy.

There was a soft rustle of someone moving close by, and she blinked, abruptly realizing that she'd once again been lost in her thoughts. Her eyes widened, and she looked up in a brief panic, hoping that she hadn't zoned out completely and missed her window of opportunity. Wouldn't that be just like her, to miss her meeting with the King while thinking about meeting with the King? Or a King at least, since her usual daydreams never really featured a dragon King-

She shook her head, a brief scowl crossing her face as she forced herself to focus. She could let her mind run wild later, while she was actually giving her pitch.

...But wow was it boring to just stand here. Maybe she could talk to someone and try to pass the time? Or maybe at least use a conversation to keep herself in the present.

She did a quick check of the room, looking for anyone who looked actually willing to engage in a conversation who also looked like they wouldn't sneer the moment they realized they had to look down at her. Not that she minded being looked down on; that was just the default state for most people she interacted with. It was really just the sneer that was the issue.

Her eyes landed on a girl nearby, almost as close to the door as she was. She was taller than her, which was absolutely no surprise, but she looked so... tense. No one else seemed as eager to be first as they were, which was definitely weird. Maybe they were just intimidated. She reached behind her back to readjust her heavy bag, and sidled closer to the tense woman.

"Do you know when the doors are supposed to open?" She asked curiously (but politely). That was a good start to a conversation, right? She couldn't be faulted for talking about the obvious. Yes. Score one for socialization.

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RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - SolitareLee - 11-08-2019

Bridget, lost in her own thoughts, was more than a bit startled when someone spoke to her. She was more startled when she looked around and didn't see anyone for the voice to have come from. She was just starting to turn around to see if someone was behind her when she heard a cleared throat that made her finally look down.

Oh! That was a very small woman. A very cute, small woman, actually. Her hair was a lilac that complimented her deep purple shirt. She looked just a bit soft in all the King's favorite places. She would do splendidly. Probably too splendidly. If she went in first, everyone else might wind up getting sent away to come back later. Just depended on her personality, Bridget supposed.

She really wished she could control her ears and tail right now. She was being very rude by werewolf standards, not that most people around here would know. Bridget glanced uncertainly at the door. Gareth had been around yesterday, and she'd seen his ward leave sometime after midnight, escorted by a King's Guard and stinking of seventeen different kinds of sex. The King was almost definitely napping.

"It's supposed to start around nine," she said apologetically, as if it were her fault the King got very easily distracted. "But honestly, it varies." On how long it took the bravest of the maids to climb up and try to wake him. "That's why they stack us all in the antechamber first. Well, that and to let the newcomers like you stew," she added with a laugh. "I guess meeting a King is nerve wracking enough without him being a dragon on top of it."

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RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Viala - 11-08-2019

It was a good thing Tiffany was used to people not seeing her at first. The first time it had happened when she'd arrived, it had been hurtful, but now it was just kind of really funny. A smile twitched at the corners of her lips as she watched her look around, delicately clearing her throat once it seemed like she was about to go actively looking. When their eyes met, Tiffany gave her a bright smile, straightening up in an effort to be slightly taller. It was not very effective.

Now that she was looking down, and Tiffany was looking up, she noticed something... mildly strange. At first, she'd just assumed the two pointed tufts on her head were just a part of her hair, either unruly pieces that refused to be tamed or a deliberate fashion choice. When she glanced at the door though, one of them twitched, and it suddenly struck her what they were.

Ears. Those were actual, honest to goodness wolf ears perched on top of her head. The fake ones she had seen sometimes back home had nothing on these, perfect and soft looking and she kind of wanted to touch them but that would definitely be very rude here, especially if this woman was a noble like she assumed everyone else in this room was! Though, being fair, she mainly assumed they were nobles because they were dressed rather nicely. She herself was dressed rather nicely as well, but was far from noble.

Food for thought.

Her eyes snapped back down to her face when she responded, a soft flush on her cheeks. She really should know better than to stare.

"It is kind of scary," she admitted, glancing at the clusters of anxious people who were awaiting the King's attention. "But if it weren't for the whole 'chance of getting eaten' thing, it would be more cool than anything else." Because really. Waiting in a massive room for the chance to speak with a Dragon King? In theory, that was awesome.

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RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - SolitareLee - 11-08-2019

Bridget was used to people staring at her ears. She didn't like it, at all, and had a tendency to wear hats because of it. But the King loved her ears, and so bare-headed she was. Fortunately for both of them, from this angle it was genuinely impossible to tell when the short young woman was looking another few inches further up at her ears instead of her face.

"Honestly, I don't know what people do to manage getting eaten," Bridget said, frowning at the door before looking back at the woman. "I've always found the King to be perfectly..." She had been about to say 'reasonable' but that wasn't even close to true. She paused, hunting for the right word. "Nice," she settled on finally. "As long as you're nice to women and children, respectful," and maybe down to fuck, not that she'd be saying that, "and don't waste his time or annoy him, there's really no danger of being eaten."

"Are you from outside of Aeris, then?" she asked, curiously. "Or the countryside?" She was very short, but not as short as a dwarf. She was maybe just a very small human. She smelled vaguely human. There was something else, but she might just have been foreign. "Oh," she said, blinking. "I'm being rude. My name is Bridget Corey, Royal Librarian." She held her hand out--and down--for a shake. Technically she was Baronetess Bridget Corey, but she always forgot. The Royal Librarian title was much more important to her.

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RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Viala - 11-08-2019

"That doesn't sound too difficult." She said, following her glance at the door again. There was really a lot of looking at the door going on, but considering what was behind it, she doubted they were the only ones sneaking glances. "I think the only thing I'm in danger of is wasting his time, honestly," Faint sheepishness crept into her voice. "Everyone back home always told me to stick to the point."

Which she was frankly really bad at. Though only half of it was her fault. She firmly placed the other half of it on her different audiences, who never seemed to properly appreciated what she was trying to explain.

"I'm from Crithe!" She replied proudly, puffing up just the slightest bit. She loved her home country, loved everything about it except for the few little nagging disagreements that had driven her to Aeris in the first place. "Well, close to Crithe. A little outside the capitol. If a town's tiny enough, it counts as the countryside, right?" Don't nervous laugh, don't nervous laugh, don't nervous laugh-

She gave a short, nervous laugh, taking her hand and shaking it. "I don't think it was too rude," she assured her, quietly appreciating the strength in that grip. It wasn't really what she expected from the Royal Librarian (which maybe proved her point about her being nobility; only nobles had the official 'Royal' title stamped on to their jobs, right?). "I'm Tiffany Hart, but just call me Tiff." She gave her her most winning smile, hoping that she didn't come across as awkward as she felt. "I don't have any title yet, but I'm hoping to get one by the end of today!"

...Wait. Would that come off as arrogant or obnoxious? Shoot. Maybe she should have kept that to herself.

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RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - SolitareLee - 11-08-2019

"It's really not," Bridget agreed. She'd gotten a job and a title within twenty-four hours of meeting the King. She really didn't understand what all the fuss was about. None of the servants ever seemed to have that much trouble with him either, but they were also constantly hiding cured ham in every room. So clearly even they never forgot the way Bree, cheerfully living in her own little library existence often did.

"Just make sure to hit your high points," she advised. "A bit of flattery at the beginning doesn't hurt, as long as you're not obviously laying it on too thick." You had to lay it on really thick with Avi before he started to suspect you weren't just in awe of his grandeur. She was probably safe there.

"Oh, Crithe!" she said, nodding. She was from the literal opposite side of the country. But she had read a lot of books. She probably shouldn't mention that Avi kept ruminating about eating their King when he got bored. "You've come a long way to petition the King." Bridget briefly wondered if she was representing Crithe for something. If so, Bridget was back to worried, but at least this time their King had picked a cute messenger. Probably learned his lesson after the last one, but might have swung too hard in the other direction. One way or another, this one might not be going back.

She tilted her head to the side, a very doglike action that made one of her ears flop over slightly. "You're here for a noble title?" That was bold. Sort of explained the fancy outfit. To be fair, it was notoriously easy to get a title from the King--Bree had managed it--but she was pretty fucking sure that this lady had no idea what was involved in that process. Or if she did, Bridget had really misjudged the situation. "Have you, uh... talked to many people who got titles from him?"

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RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Viala - 11-08-2019

She nodded seriously at Bridget's words, being careful to make a whole mental notebook. These were probably tips she needed, given her penchant for sticking her foot in her mouth.

Just like right now!

Yep, she had definitely come off wrong, judging by the look on her face. "No!" She blurted out, an embarrassed flush lighting up her face. "I mean! It would make things easier! But I didn't come here specifically looking for a title, no-" she took a breath, reaching up to try and scrub the blush off her cheeks. She always messed her words up like that! And it was doubly embarrassing now, in front of the Royal Librarian!

"...No, I haven't talked to anyone who's gotten a title from him." She replied quietly, inwardly cursing herself for probably coming off as a gold digger. That would have been audacious for anyone, coming to petition the King solely for a title, but doubly so considering his penchant for, you know, eating people. "I've heard that he gives titles to people when they help him, and I have ideas about helping him redesign his castle and maybe the city itself! Scout's honor, I'm not some, some..." she struggled to find a proper word to describe someone who did such things and would not get her tossed out of the castle for vulgarity.

They did that, right? Tossed people out for being vulgar?

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RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - SolitareLee - 11-09-2019

Judging by the, uh, color she was turning, Tiffany almost surely knew what was generally involved in being granted a title by the King. Aaaand she was offended. Oh god. Bridget had absolutely just accidentally implied this woman was some kind of opportunistic dragon harlot. And as a foreigner, she definitely didn't know the sorts of rumors that followed Bridget--semi-true rumors, which was what made them rankle even more--about how she'd gotten her, ahem, position here in the castle. Her own cheeks began to darken as she stumbled for an explanation, and quick, before this friendly stranger accidentally called her a whore in front of half a dozen eavesdropping nobles.

"Oh, no, I mean, I wouldn't--it's not--" Desperately, she cleared her throat. "It's a perfectly valid thing for any grown woman to choose to do, and--" Oh god now she just sounded like her uncle. "That is to say, there would be nothing wrong with seeking a title from the King if that were what you were doing, which you've just said it's not so--" Why was the like this. Why was she a disaster. She always wanted to blame life on the farm, but she'd been at the castle for more than a third of her life at this point. It was just her; she was inherently a mess.

She rubbed her face, the embarrassment making even her on-alarm ears tuck down against her head. She cleared her throat again, desperate for some port in the storm of her own social incompetence. "He does absolutely give titles to people, who, erm, well. I mean. Help is a word, but I don't think it's... That is to say, um. The King would definitely be interested in a good redesign. I've heard the first thing he did upon arrival was tear up and completely redo the gardens, which are splendid now, you should really give them a look after your petition. Most of the castle isn't really sized for a full dragon--" Thank god. "And he's always complaining about the state of the city and how ugly it is. I-I'm sure if your sense of aesthetics align with his, it will go splendidly!"

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RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Viala - 11-09-2019

Her cheeks were crimson by now as she stared helplessly at Bridget stumbling over her own words as well, her tongue tied from the force of her awkwardness. Clearly she was trying to help Tiffany by trying to explain away whatever unfortunate social faux-pas she'd just committed in front of all these people, but was too astounded by her sheer ineptitude to even explain it. Or maybe she was attempting to make her feel somewhat better about committing said faux-pas? She really had no idea. "It- it's fine, really, I swear-" she stumbled over her words just as badly, and promptly decided that maybe she should just give up and wait for a new line of conversation.

Normally she would perfectly fine with being Bad At Talking like this. When she was growing up, people would occasionally just walk away from her mid-sentence, too annoyed with her inability to at least pretend she was capable of holding a conversation. Right now though? It was kind of important that she be able to speak to people, especially people who were nobles, potential royalty, and Kings.
Though admittedly the Royal Librarian was especially important in this scenario. Tiffany was fairly certain that if she didn't have access to books while she was here, she would tragically wither away like a plant cruelly being withheld water. Not that she thought Bridget was being cruel-

Okay focus on the conversation.

"I heard about him tearing up the gardens, actually!" She grabbed for the proper foothold in the conversation, desperate to try and claw back some semblance of being a Capable Person. The fact that she had said 'help' like there was maybe a second meaning to it was. Slightly concerning, but not enough for Tiffany to risk overreaching in an effort to get an explanation. "Well, it was more mentioned in passing, since everyone was way more concerned about a dragon becoming King in the first place, but I did hear about the gardens once or twice." Yes. This was better. Gardens and design were easy. "Are they really as lovely as everyone says?" She asked, bringing a hand up to her mouth thoughtfully. A good sense of aesthetics wasn't really something she associated with dragons, but she would be the first to admit she didn't know much about them.

"I probably will go look at them after this if I don't get turned into a toothpick." She joked, offering her a small smile in an effort to try and share in the humor. "I'm hoping my ideas are adaptable enough to work with whatever he wants done, but if not..." she paused, thinking for a moment before giggling. "I think I'm small enough that it wouldn't even be worth the effort to eat me!"

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RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - SolitareLee - 11-09-2019

Bridget latched onto the new subject of conversation with similar desperation. "Absolutely shredded, yeah," she said with an eager, floppy-eared nod. "It's great there now. He's got this incredible lake-pool-thing, some kind of feat of engineering or magic or something; I don't really understand it. And the rest looks like it's wild, even though it's cultivated. It really feels like walking through the wilds." She went there a lot when she was feeling homesick, despite the risk of running into the full-sized King. "You should really see it if you get the chance."

Maybe Bridget could take her? But, no, that was stupid. After Bree'd just accidentally insulted her like that, it was a miracle Tiff was even still talking to her.

Although, if she was actually here for a job and not to fuck the King, that presented its own kind of danger. It was really easy to accidentally fuck the King, was the thing. Bridget hadn't even realized it was happening until sometime after they'd started. She didn't know; she'd never gotten a physical before.

"I'm sure you'll be fine!" Bridget said with a slightly pained smile. "Just be polite and stay on topic. And if he gets smaller, um..." How best to say this. "If he gets smaller, that's admittedly a good sign, since it means he's definitely not going to eat you, but, you know, he's still a dragon and a King, so... due caution. He's very pretty when he's small, so it's easy to forget."

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RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Viala - 11-09-2019

Tiff's eyes shone as Bridget described the gardens, fascination and wonder and a burning curiosity playing over her face in equal parts. No one she'd asked had given her any details about the rebuilt gardens, always too concerned about the dragon on the throne to really worry about what the dragon was actually doing. Now that she was hearing about the redesigns that had taken place, she was even MORE excited about the possibility of actually staying here and getting to work. "It sounds amazing." She breathed, an excited shiver going down her spine. "I'll make sure I do!" She nodded enthusiastically, bouncing a little on the balls of her feet.

Dang it, now she was excited for something that was distinctly NOT pitching to the King, and that was a deadly thing to get distracted from. She needed Focus, and Resolve, and all those other nice words people liked to use when they were being encouraging.

"I can definitely be polite and on topic, or at least pretend that I am." She said once she had stopped bouncing in place, injecting what was hopefully the correct amount of seriousness into her voice. Judging from the almost-grimace on her face, she had not succeeded. "By get smaller, you mean... like... shrinking? He gets prettier as he shrinks?" She frowned slightly, confused now. Did the King shrink? Was that a thing he did and she just hadn't heard about it? How much prettier could you get as a lizard than a dragon? She assumed Bridget did not mean he would shrink to alligator size, as that was still plenty terrifying and large enough to eat her. "When you say smaller, do you mean iguana size, or monitor size?"

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RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - SolitareLee - 11-10-2019

Oh, wait, shit. Was that not common knowledge? Was she giving away state secrets? Goddamnit, she was the Royal Librarian, her job was the opposite of that! She just never talked to anyone outside of the castle, and here, his transformations were just sort of like the weather. Sometimes he was big, sometimes he was small, you acted accordingly.

"Oh, uuuhhhh..." she said, scrambling for something to say. "Don't worry you'll definitely recognize it when it happens." Wait. Wait, fuck, if she didn't know the King could turn human, surely she didn't actually know the traditional methods of joining the gentry? If she did and she was still here for a title, well... In that case, Bridget was barking up the wrong tree--pun intended--in a couple of different ways.

Wait, oh no, if she was here for a title and didn't know the King could turn into a human and therefore didn't know he fucked everything he felt like fucking... With dawning horror, Bridget realized she might have another herself on her hands. She ran a quick calculation in her head of what she knew of the King's measurements--everything--versus the size of the woman in front of her.

Oh no. Oh no. He'd break her in half. He loved doing that! This woman was going to walk right in there, pretty as a fresh plum, with no idea that she was the King's type. She was going to get seduced.

"Uhm!" she began, desperately hunting for something helpful to say other than a frantic 'don't fuck the king! Unless you want to! You're a grown woman and what you do with your body is your choice but please he's very strong and his dick is huge and you'll snap like raw pasta!' "Just, you know, try not to be alone with him, he's a dragon, you know, and--"

"His Royal Highness, Overlord of the Northern Mountains, Elder Dragon of the Divine Opals, Scourge of the Skies Above Seven Kingdoms, Demon of the Winter Winds, Slayer of Tyrants and Merciful King of Aeris, will now hear your petitions, citizens of Aeris and countries abroad," came a somewhat tired sounding assistant's voice.

The doors opened, and Bree, already knowing routine, all but power walked through. They'd let a few through and then close the doors, leaving the remnants in the antechamber to hear various noises, possibly, and stew in it. The King was very dramatic about these things, and also about everything. All Bree knew was that she was going to be the first one in, and then make sure, hopefully, that this poor foreigner didn't get accidentally sodomized. It was one of the biggest risks in Aeris, honestly. It should be in the pamphlets.

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RE: Building Bridges [Closed] - Tindome - 11-10-2019

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