Knights' Roleplay - A New Day

[zarikrahia]

Zari grinned 'Congrats, Kat, Shino, Shade, Ikkin, Kit and Tamia. You all deserve it.' she said, then began to eat as though she hadn't consumed anything for hours.

[Deleted]

Wolf slowed his pace as he neared the Knight's table. Shino was busy seducing Kat, Kit had just risen from his seat to speak with Tamia, and Ikkin had turned in her seat and straightened herself upon seeing him.

And it suddenly made sense to Wolf. He hadn't noticed it before, but seeing them all now, he could certainly see it, clear as day. His council presented the kingdom with the highest of nobles, and high nobles must court one another most-definitely. Shino had been eying Kat since before they had even arrived at the castle, and it could only mean one thing that Kit had approached Tamia so soon after his announcement-- to congratulate her, perchance even with a kiss!

The thought of sudden courtship made his approaching Ikkin uneasy. Nevertheless, Wolf was feeling hungry, and there were things he had to discuss with his knights. So, he took the empty seat at Ikkin's right and opened his mouth to talk.

Nothing came out, his mouth suddenly too dry to speak with, and he waved his hand to show Ikkin he'd only be a moment while he grabbed an unused goblet and the nearest decanter he could see-- one filled filled with bright, vivid red juice. He filled his glass and took a long swig of it-- passionfruit, no less.

How ironic. And unsettling.

Wolf sighed, setting down his goblet and turning towards Ikkin. He smiled sheepishly, and said, "Lady Ikkin..." He laughed at how strange it sounded when he tried to put his thoughts into words. "Have you... perchance..." He sighed again, shaking his head. Best not to think and just say it, he decided. "Lady Ikkin, do you... do you recall anything of last night, other than my coronation, at least?"

[Ikkin]

Wolf seemed to be acting... differently as he approached Ikkin, something that she was bound to notice, looking for any sign that her own misgivings had been picked up. She wondered for a moment if he had noticed, but then dropped the idea as he sat next to her. It didn't seem right; it had to be something else.

Wolf opened his mouth to talk, then waved his hand, filled a glass, and took a drink. Now this was strange - Ikkin didn't know Wolf to be so nervous. He had seemed a bit nervous on stage, but... not this nervous. She wondered what had caused this change in him.

Finally, he finished, smiled sheepishly, and spoke. "Lady Ikkin..." He broke off and laughed. Ikkin looked at him more closely, wondering what he wanted to say. "Have you... perchance..." He sighed and shook his head. Ikkin thought this was starting to sound familiar, but she wasn't sure why. "Lady Ikkin, do you... do you recall anything of last night, other than my coronation, at least?"

Suddenly, the reason why Wolf's hesitation sounded familiar hit Ikkin. It sounded just like the normal nervous shyness that went along with a crush. But then...

No, he was the king. It couldn't have been that.

Could it?

It wasn't really a comfortable thought for her. She respected King Wolf deeply, but not in that way. Plus, he was the king, it wouldn't be right - not because of any internalized view of status (kitsune didn't really have that), but because of her own discomfort with power.

Ikkin tried to put the thought out of her mind, so she could respond to the question. "Sorry, I can't remember anything from yesterday, really... not even the coronation..." Now that the subject had been brought up, it started nagging at her again. Why couldn't she remember anything? It was almost like she wasn't even there...

This day just got stranger and stranger...

[Deleted]

Wolf felt his eyes widen and his heart race as Ikkin finished speaking. She recalled nothing, not even his coronation. Though, in all honesty, he couldn't actually recall seeing her much the day before (not that he could recall much of it at all), so perhaps she had been unable to attend it. Still, an entire missing day was unnerving.

Nevertheless, Ikkin's calmness and her seeming aversion to courtship had soothed the Green Knight, and he wasn't so nervous about being beside her any longer. The thought seemed rather silly now, actually, yet the implications of what she had said were more than enough to fill him with dread more than sheepish laughter.

Wolf turned back towards the table, staring blankly across it and into the crowd as he reached for a scone and some freshly-churned butter. He was glad they weren't flocking in hoardes to greet him or pester the Knights; such seemed to be the kingdom's decency, to leave them be whilst at the Knights' table and let them eat in peace. And the scone tasted delicious, still warm from the ovens and soft in his mouth.

"Everything's a blur, at best," he said angrily after a bite or two, licking his lips free of crumbs, "and I doubt even that's everything." He shook his head, dropping his scone on his plate to cradle his head in his palms, elbows firmly set upon the table. He knew such behavior wasn't "kingly," but this predicament was more important than mere manners and it frustrated him beyond comfortability.

"I recall someone attacking me, in the hall, but then, all I remember is green light." He growled, moaning into his hands. "I've been king for-- what, ten hours? --and already I can't keep track of what's going on in my castle!"

[zarikrahia]

Zari looked across at Wolf curiously, then returned to the roll she was eating- no, she'd dropped it. 'Jhioan.' she muttered. She pointed at the roll in her lap furtively and it dissolved.

((Jhioan is a Fae swearword that, when said properly, sounds like a sneeze.))

[Kat]

"I've been king for-- what, ten hours? --and already I can't keep track of what's going on in my castle!"

"You probably still need some more time to get into your element," said Kat, leaning back in her chair and staring at her now-empty plate. "Don't worry, I know you'll be a great king. You already are, actually. Don't be so hard on yourself."

[KitClairvoyance]

"Of... of course, Sir Kit; what do you need?"

Kit thought for a while on how he was supposed to phrase his request. He didn't feel comfortable openly admitting the fact that he was really hungry and that the reason he never ate breakfast was because his stomach was busy finding new ways to feel pain.


"I've had some.. potion poisoning." Kit wondered if he should just leave the sentence hanging there as it was, but decided that it was a little too vague. "..something went wrong with the infirmary's healing potion. Lady Ikkin said certain kinds of tea could help, so I was wondering if you knew some way of counteracting the potion."

As Kit spoke, he couldn't help but feel that Tamia was a little unnerved. He wondered if it had something to do with the earlier announcement, but dismissed the thought. He didn't think that it was likely that Tamia be appointed to a position so early into her knighthood. After all, she was only sixteen, and had only one year's worth of experience as a knight under her belt. It wasn't that Kit thought Tamia was incapable of handling responsibility, he was well aware of her potential to be a great knight, but there were some things that only experience imparted.

Then again, he himself had just been appointed for something. From the chatter that filled the hall, he picked out the word 'council' being said in most of the conversations. That alone didn't sit well with Kit. Why Wolf would want a demonologist on his council was beyond Kit, for one it certainly wouldn't help the council gain favour with the general public. Demonologists weren't taken very well by the average commoner, and for Wolf to accept one onto his ruling council would only serve to seed a slight mistrust into the minds of the people.

Personally, Kit would have preferred to be left alone to serve the kingdom in his own dark ways. Administration and demons never went well together for some reason.

Kit packed the thoughts away neatly. Whatever it was he probably could ask Tamia about it later, she would probably know more about it than he did at the moment.

[Tam]

Tamia shook her head in an attempt to dislodge the nagging thoughts of her new position, resolving to hear Kit out. "Ah, sure," she tried to control her stammer, "I have a few plants in my room that would help..." Potion poisoning? she thought inwardly. How on earth did that happen? Instead of asking, however, she decided that if he wanted to elaborate, he would do so when he was ready.

She rose, allowing a still surly Oran to leap onto her shoulder. "The tea will need several ingredients, and I can't guarantee how appetizing it'll be," she started. "I should have everything I need in my quarters, though." She stroked Oran's inky fur absently, and only when he growled bad-temperedly did she remember how much he hated to be petted. She gave a nervous half-smile. "If you follow me, I can have it ready in a few minutes." She moved into the central aisle and waited for the Grey Knight to do the same.

This day is getting more and more complicated, Oran said with a yawn.

Tamia didn't answer.

[Deleted]

"Thanks, Kat," Wolf said, stealing a glance at her and mustering a small smile. He leaned back in his seat and stared at his plate and half-eaten scone. Maybe he did only need more time. Certainly, he still needed yesterday. Or maybe yesterday wasn't even important anymore. He just didn't know.

He sat there silently as he finished his scone, spreading just a little jam onto it to make it more tasteful, not that it hadn't been delicious beforehand. In fact, Wolf hoped that the cooks would keep up their skills, not that this high quality was only because of the occasion.

Wolf washed the crumbs out of his mouth with another swig of juice. It was just sweet enough to be sweet, and just cool enough to be soothing to his throat.

"Sir Jason, Lady Emma," he said, looking across the table as the Sangria Knight stood up to go get some cloths from the kitchen, "please, do let the servants assist you; they'll be quite willing to assist if only you call one over, and Knights shouldn't have to clean when there are matters at hand.

"At which," he continued, "do either of you have any recollection of yesterday? We here can't seem to recall a thing, and as the two of you did not arrive until today, I must wonder if you have suffered the same plight..."

[Ikkin]

Ikkin listened to the conversation even though it no longer really invoved her, thinking about yesterday and trying to see if she could remember anything. Her mind stayed frustratingly blank... though, one thing came to mind.

Sev.

She couldn't be sure whether that was a memory for yesterday or just a reminder to summon Sev to come down for breakfast before it was too late and he had to find his own food. That was never fun.

In any case, a majority of the knights had eaten, and she hoped that a phoenix at the table wouldn't bother the others too much.

"Sev," she said softly, trying not to disturb the others. "You might want to come down and eat now."

The phoenix appeared in a flash, glaring at Ikkin. "Call me when the food gets cold, will you?"

"Sev, you always reheat your meat anyway," Ikkin sighed. "And it would be best not to disturb the others with phoenix wings at the table. None of the other familiars insist on eating at the table."

Sev paid her no mind, and changed the subject by asking Ikkin to make his plate for him.

Ikkin decided that it would probably be better for her to comply than to have the phoenix's giant wings in everyone's food as he tried to get it himself.

But that wouldn't stop her from complaining. "You didn't help Kit earlier, so I really shouldn't be doing this for you."

"If you could find a less embarrassing way of doing it, we wouldn't have these kind of problems."

Ikkin sighed. "Well, if you consider crying embarrassing, then it's impossible for it not to be."

"I don't like the idea of being more like you humans, that's true... but I wouldn't mind so much if I didn't have the feeling that the whole thing was a joke at my expense."

"You're not as different as you'd like to think, Sev," Ikkin said. "You lost your memory just like the rest of us, after all."

"Actually, my memory's starting to come back now," Sev said with a smirk.

Ikkin looked towards him, one eyebrow raised. "That's rather convenient. What do you remember?"

"I remember sensing some kind of dark energy... and you going around solving problems that normally wouldn't even warrant the attention of a squire. It was rather amusing, really."

"Now who's having a joke at whose expense," Ikkin said, faking annoyance. "Though this does seem interesting... another piece of the puzzle, I suppose. Dark magic sometimes can affect peoples' memory... King Wolf might be interested to know this."

"Nice to know I could be helpful," Sev said sarcastically. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to eat before this gets cold."

"But you always..." Ikkin was suddenly cut off as Sev blasted his meat with phoenix fire before eating it. She sighed, then turned back towards Wolf, hoping that her phoenix's awful table manners would be overlooked.

"King Wolf, it seems that Sev remembers something from yesterday after all... It's not much, but..." she trailed off.

[zarikrahia]

Zaha, who was wandering around the hall, stopped beside Ikkin and said 'I eat at the table. Sev isn't the only one.', before continiuing along the table, sniffing around. Humanoids were so interesting. 'What's this stuff? Ohhhh...icky!'

[Shadaras]

"If we're discussing our memories of last night, then I have a bit to add. There were demons, or being similar to demons, involved. Other than that, all I remember is that Wolf was crowned, though not how, or when." Shade shrugged. "Others might remember more. I sort of doubt it, though."

[Ikkin]

"I suppose that demons would explain the dark magic that Sev sensed," Ikkin said. "At least, that seems to be their favored type of magic, from what I've read. Though, it is rather strange that you remember so much more than I do, though...

"Considering that I remember nothing, that's probably a good thing, though." Having some information to go from now, Ikkin became more curious about the mystery of the missing memories. If Shade remembered the demons, it was less likely that the demons were the reason for the memory loss. But then, that left the question of why no one could remember what had happened.

It almost seemed like the more she thought about it, the less sense it made. But that wasn't about to deter her from asking questions.

"Do you remember what the demons were like?"

[Kat]

Kat closed her eyes. "I don't know if he counts as a demon...but I remember a man in a dark corridor trying to take me away." She shuddered. "Then...a lot of skeletons. Yeah. A lot of skeletons whirling about in a tornado. I think...I cast the tornado. Some other knights were with me, but I'm afraid their names escape me as of the moment..."

She bit her lip so hard that a tiny drop of blood slid down her chin. "The only thing I really, really remember was that if I hadn't fought that man, I...I wouldn't be...be sitting here..."

[Shadaras]

"Do you remember what the demons were like?"

"No, I don't," Shade said frustration evident in her voice. "I know that there was at least one demon, maybe more, but nothing else really useful. I mean, I was fighting the demon, but that's nothing unusual. Demons don't usually like half-bloods. Especially ones like me, who know... well, who've been taught by their demon parent."

"Then...a lot of skeletons."

"Skeletons? I don't remember any skeletons. Or I don't think I do, at least..." Her voice trailed off, uncertain. Too many things were wrong with how she remembered the day before to be sure of anything anymore.