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Post by Shinko on Sept 1, 2014 15:21:11 GMT -5
Belial wonderd if Alain would have been so quick to dismiss Corvid summers if he'd ever experienced true dehydration, in the middle of a swap, with water everywhere that you could not drink because the likelihood of it being contaminated was simply too high. But the elf wasn't inclined to argue about it. If Alain was as determined to have the last word as he'd indicated, likely he'd keep arguing even if he knew he was wrong just to come out in control of the conversation somehow. At Alain's question about his lifespan compared to human lifespans, however, Belial's good humor flickered like a sputtering candle. With a sad sort of smile he looked down at his wedding ring again, idly twisting it with one finger. "No, it's alright. Actually you have hit upon the main crux of why elves are so very isolationist, at least most of the time. Though my kind hide it well from humans behind bland masks and formality so stiff one could imagine they have no emotions, elves are as much social creatures as humans are. We meet people, grow fond of them, and mourn when they pass on from this world. And elven mourning is not quite like human mourning, if you'll pardon a moment of criticism on my part. It has been my observation that humans, especially human men, are expected not to show much real emotion. To grieve openly is to appear weak, and out of control of oneself." He shook his head. "It is not so among elves. Though for the most part we mask our negative emotions for the sake of politeness, grieving for the dead is almost sacred among our kind because death is so very rare. To lose someone who has been a part of our community for nigh on a millennia, who seemed as if they would never die... it is humbling, and even the men among elves will weep openly in an expression of that humility." "That having been said, because death of a loved one wounds us so deeply, most elves avoid emotional attachments to humans altogether, because their lives are so painfully short. I am an outlier among my people, as I already explained to you. I watch my human friends grow up, then old, and die, and it is as painful as I'm sure you imagine it to be. In a way, watching the descendants of those who came before is therapeutic, though I know in time they too will go. And yet, fool that I am, I continue to spend more time with humans than my own kind. " He wasn't even trying to smile now; there was a profound unhappiness in his eyes, and he seemed to be looking at some distant thing invisible to anyone else. "And believe me, I will pay dearly for my sentimentality in the next..." he seemed to calculate mentally, "th-thirty years, or so." Was it really so short a time already? He clenched his right hand, the hand with the ring, into a fist, and covered the balled up fist with his left hand. Belial has feels. Lots and lots of feels. That was a loaded question Alain, I hope you knew what you were getting into. XD
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Post by Celestial on Sept 1, 2014 21:47:36 GMT -5
The change in the elf's attitude would have been obvious even to somebody who did not have the experience reading people that Alain had. Perhaps he should not have asked, this was clearly a bad question bound to dredge up all sorts of unpleasant thoughts. While Alain had no problem with that normally, he did not want to cause friction between the Nid'aigle knights and him by interrogating one of their own for his curiousity. It would not be good for morale. Nevertheless, what was done was done. However, the movement of Belial's hands caught his eye and Alain's gaze flickered down to see the knight fiddling with the wedding ring on his finger. That was rather curious. He filed that away in his mind and instead listened to Belial speak. Alain remained still with his hands clasped, save for the occassional nod to show he was paying attention. Nevertheless, as Belial kept speaking, he found himself looking away, out of politeness more than anything. The fact that the knight was willing to answer such a loaded question said something for his character. When he had finished speaking, there was a brief silence, which Alain had left deliberately to process what he had heard. Finally, however, he brought his hands up to his chin, clasping them together and looking directly at Belial. "I see. I feel like I should apologise, I clearly hit a nerve for you. However, in light of what you told me, it makes sense why elves tend to avoid humans and stick with their own kind," he gave Belial a small smile. "While I cannot speak about what it is like to outlive all around me, I have seen my fair share of death. It is painful, especially when you so rightly pointed out that we humans have to suppress our emotions. It is not, however, an insurmountable pain, not unless you let it be. You come away from the experience with something, more than you would have if you had not known the person, am I correct? You regularly interact with humans and therefore, you know more about us than your peers. You speak perfect Kythian, you have known may interesting people and you will continue to meet many more. Is that not useful? Of course, it is up to you whether you decide the price is worth it." "I do wonder, however, what you must think of those humans who envy your long lifespan and wish to emulate it, by magic or otherwise. It must seem very foolish to you," Alain's face broke into a grin before he flicked his hand out, letting it fall palm upwards in a gesture of dismissal. "Of course, as you said before, you might not even come back from this war. That is the fickleness of life, for both elves and humans. Perhaps it would be best if we get off this subject," he smiled and his eyes moved over Belial's hands and the wedding ring contained inside. "You mentioned your wife several times...and I cannot help but wonder if your cryptic comment was referring to her. Would you care to tell me about her?" Alain actually *gasp* regrets pushing that button but he listens to Belial anyway, since it's the least you can do, Alain. He tries to offer some words of comfort and then brings up the humans seeking immortality before reminding Belial of his comment about maybe not surviving the war. Then he asks about Morgaine. I hope you are prepared, Alain.
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Post by Shinko on Sept 2, 2014 6:11:08 GMT -5
"It's alright," Belial said, shaking his head. "I have always done my best to be as honest as I may about such things. The theme of this conversation seems to be 'everything has a consequence,' and elven longevity is no exception. But you are right, short and painful or not I would not sacrifice those friendships. No matter how old I may be, there are always new things I can learn from other people, and my knowledge of humans has been used to the diplomatic advantage of my company a good few times- though I myself am hardly a diplomat, I wear my thoughts and emotions too freely upon my sleeve." His lip curled a little, though he wasn't sure if he was amused or not. "I have heard of such; human alchemists trying to create some fabled pebble that turns lead into gold, and grants immortal life. A fruitless endeavor, but one I cannot help feeling is a bit misguided. There are other consequences for our long lifespan, natural ones, that humans do not have and would be detrimental to you in the long run if you lived as long as we. For example, it is very, very difficult for elf women to conceive. On average at any given time Nid'aigle, which has a population close to four hundred, there are only three to five children. Humans, by contrast, breed much like rabbits do. If you lived as long as we did, your population would spiral out of control and wars like this one would become even more of a problem." Belial was surprised by Alain's on-the-mark guess, and he raised an eyebrow. "Let it never be said you are not a perceptive man, Grand Duke Alain. Yes... I was talking about my wife. As you probably surmised, if you guessed that much, she is a human. I met her about thirteen years ago, and well... one thing lead to another." His expression became very gentle, and when he spoke it was obvious his cheer was returning somewhat. "I think you would like her, if you and she ever met. She is very intelligent, sensible, curious, and never met a new idea she wasn't willing to explore- though she is also very keen to pick something apart if she thinks it is flawed, and won't spare your ego in her blunt criticism. When she was younger she had issues with being too smart for her rather limited environment, and no outlet for it, so she has something of a habit of becoming bored and taking it out on other people through harmless practical jokes. She pulled me into a river once, simply because I was feeling gloomy and she had no better ideas for how to cheer me up." The elf shrugged helplessly. "I suppose in light of what I just said, it seems remarkably short-sighted that I would wed a human, and have half-human children who's possible lifespans I can't even begin to guess at. But I thought a great deal on the matter, and in the end I came to the conclusion that if I already loved her, the legal technicalities were merely a detail. Ring or not, the emotional attachment was already there, and when she died it would cut me in two. So I decided that the best thing I could do was to make the very most of what we have while I can, and hold those bright memories close in the lonely years to come. And, as you said, my own longevity is not necessarily a promise with the job I do." Belial is grateful for Alain's sympathy and his apology, and agrees that what he gains from his human friends is worth what he sacrifices, even if it's a big sacrifice. He offers an opinion on humans who would seek immortality, and then rambles about Morgaine and their relationship a bit. He doesn't actually say her name though, because I don't know if that would make canon confusing since Alain meets "Morgaine Braham" and doesn't recognize her name or comment on it when Sieg finally does reference his father. I mean it had been fifteen years so he could have just forgot, but still, don't want to create plot holes.
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Post by Celestial on Sept 2, 2014 20:05:29 GMT -5
"I am thankful for that. I would not want to sour this conversation by bringing up something so sensitive for you, though my curiousity has been thoroughly sated," Alain lowered his hands in front of him and gave Belial a smirk, "Whether you consider yourself a diplomat or not, you will be called upon such duties when it comes to humans because of your knowledge. It is, after all, why your sentry directed you to speak to me. It is one of the unexpected consequences of your fascination with humans, isn't it? Though hardly a bad one, in my opinion. It allows for better cooperation between our forces and for exchanges of knowledge such as this one. It does not wipe away the pain, I'm sure, but you do come away a richer man, don't you?" Belial's expression when he talked about the human alchemists puzzled him as he tried to work out whether the elf was amused or angered by the question. However, judging by the answer he gave, it was more likely it was a mixture of the two. "I do agree, it is a useless attempt meant for dreamers, but humans fear death. It is not something that can be helped. It is interesting though, what you say about your children, and it makes sense, given the length of time you live. Nature has to balance itself after all. We cannot build long legacies as you do so our children have to do it for us. Though it means that several minds are applied to one problem, which makes for some interesting solutions," he gave a small, bitter laugh "Though if we lived as long as you did, I am sure that the wars would pick us off enough to keep the population stable. There are other ways to decide beside a natural death. Woo knows, most humans are not so lucky to die in their sleep in their old age." He chuckled a bit at Belial's surprise and spread his hands, giving him a look of mock guilt. "It is a helpful skill for a man of my position and one I like to exercise often," Alain told him. He nodded as he listened to Belial describe his wife. Of course he noticed the softening of the knight's expression and heard the slight wistfullness in his tone but even without those small details, Belial's love for his wife was very clear. "She sounds like quite an amazing woman. We would either get on very well or not at all if we ever met," he smiled but then, his expression became serious. "What else were you going to do? Whether it be in love or not, only a fool does not take an opportunity when it presents itself because he fears the future. So far, you have not struck me as a fool. Going back to what I said about children as a legacy as well, if somehow you do meet a tragic end on the battlefield, your children will still survive and carry on," he bowed his head. "Of course, I doubt it shall be easy for them, as you probably realise. So it is best to hope that it will end for you on a battlefield, as all knights do." Alain tells Belial that he's a diplomat whether he likes it or not due to his knowledge of humans, which makes him also richer for it. He also talks about how humans fear death and comments that even if they did manage to become immortal, they'd kill each other anyway. When it comes to being perceptive, he's guilty as charged and then listens to Belial talk about Morgaine, who he decides he'd get on with or not get on at all before saying that Belial would have been stupid to let her go and that now, he's got his children to carry on in case he dies before hoping that won't happen because it would hurt them. Hindsight is fun. 8D
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Post by Shinko on Sept 2, 2014 22:07:45 GMT -5
"In general I think diplomats are intended to present the party they are representing in a favorable light," Belial pointed out with dry humor. "Instead I talk about why being an elf is not all it's held up to be, and my people's many varied imperfections. Not that I think my people are without merit, but I find the more time I spend with a woman who spares no one her cheerful criticisms, the harder it is for me to force my own tongue to behave. The fact that she seems to have infected our daughter with her biting wit doesn't help the issue any." He shrugged ruefully. "I don't mind, not really, I just wonder if I'm really the right person for this. I haven't a deceptive or manipulative bone in my body, and a very poor head for politics. Good manners and cultural understanding are really my only assets in this field. Well, that and the fact that, as I have been informed by multiple acquaintances, I almost never become truly angry." Belial shook his head. "Certainly my judgement is called into question often enough where my choice of a wife is concerned. I am glad you agree with my viewpoint on the situation, but some feel I am masochistic and setting myself up for unnecessary heartache. While there has been no open opposition that I am aware of, certain conservative parties human and elven have made clear their disapproval. For my own good, of course." He smirked. "Not that I would have second-guessed myself for their sake, but still. It does make me wonder why I'd be trusted with something like this." A light of genuine concern came into his face now. "My children... I don't know what to think about that, honestly. It is difficult for me to think of them in the context of miniature versions of myself that will carry my burdens. I should rather think of them as... it is difficult to explain, the concept is a very elvish one. But because children are so rare for us, having children is a joy and a blessing beyond measure." He visibly grappled with a way to explain what he wanted to, and then sighed. "It is impossible to say it without sounding unforgivably sappy, so I apologize in advance. But they are my happiness. I should not want to force upon them the burdens of my life, when their own lives will no doubt provide them plenty of sorrow in due time." Belial jokes around, indicating that he's picked up a habit of voicing judgy opinions from Morgaine. Which is not true, he was judgmental about the elves looong before he met her and he holds his opinions about other people in fairly well, but the two of them like to needle each other even when they're not together. He then expresses a more serious concern about his validity for the position of diplomat. He mentions that there have been some who thought he was an idiot for marrying a human who would die so fast, and then gets a little sad at the suggestion of leaving his children to shoulder all of his burdens. Hmmmm...
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Post by Celestial on Sept 3, 2014 16:42:54 GMT -5
"Perhaps, there is a time and place for such diplomacy, though in your case I would rather listen to the honest truth. Somebody who is too positive, too favourable to those they represent is an idiot at best, suspicious at worst. The ability to balance your story is better at making people believe it. But since you bring it up, wit helps too. It shows intelligence, though without the ability to restrain it, it can become very dangerous, especially when addressing those of a higher standing. At least, those who are less patient and good-humoured than me," Alain replied with a smirk before he shook his head. "You are hardly being asked to broker a peace between two warring nations. In my case, all you are required to do is converse, for which both manners and knowledge of the culture are enough. Not getting angry also helps but," he gave a small chuckle, "I hope I do not do much to make you angry." He gave Belial a thoughtful look. "Unless you have mastered the art of completely controlling your emotions, you would have suffered either way, as you quite correctly surmised. You are trapped between a rock and a hard place so no wonder you chose the option which would bring you a little happiness. Though you are lucky you have not faced more opposition, given what you have told me about your society and its conservative nature. You do not live in a vacuumm, you marrying a human could have set a precedent," Alain suddenly smiled and waved his hand as if chasing away the thought. "Of course, you do say you are considered an eccentric amongst your people so your ideas might have been dismissed. Though this is guessing on my part. I realise I am applying the laws of how humans behave to your kind, which might not be the most accurate thing to do." Alain regarded Belial for a moment before smiling. "Please do not apologise to me. If you say something I do not like, you will know," his eyes grew slightly more sympathetic, "I understand, you genuinely care for them and do not want them to suffer. That is hardly something exclusive to elves, even if children are very common amongst humans, at least more common than it seems amongst your kind," he sighed. "I suppose what I said must have seemed rather callous. However, I was looking at it from a noble's perspective. Our children are first and foremost the inheritors of our legacy. It is why we start families in the first place, to secure heirs. Love and affection for them is secondary, which doesn't mean to say it is not important, far from it." Alain counters, basically saying that while Belial is not a diplomat, he does a decent enough job for what he has to. He also, in a way, says that Belial did the right thing in marrying Morgaine, though it surprises him there was no more fallout. After asking Belial not to apologise, he also talks about children, confessing he was approaching the question from a noble's perspective but giving some hints that he understands how Belial feels.
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Post by Shinko on Sept 3, 2014 17:22:55 GMT -5
Belial laughed outright at this. "A valid point, I concede it. And rest assured, you are not in any danger of making me angry. In general the only things that really upset me in that fashion are when someone threatens those I care about- which I really can't see you having any motivation to do- or when someone says something with implications on my honor. And in the later case I usually still won't get angry unless I know the person is familiar enough with me to know better, and then it's more hurt that they think so poorly of me than legitimate anger." The elf shrugged. "My people are conservative, but I did also say that for the most part our society is a loosely governed one. As long as what someone does isn't a threat to the safety and happiness of others, usually it is tolerated. That is not to say it is welcomed with open arms, mind you, just tolerated. It took my wife some years to get to the point where the elves in Nid'aigle would listen to her and fully acknowledge her place in our community. Some still don't. It's just a passive resistance rather than an active one, which is more in line with elven nature." He grinned then, an expression that was full of vicarious pride. "They underestimate her, to their own detriment. She is more than capable of holding her own, even in the face of legendary elven stubbornness." Belial nodded as Alain explained his comments about children, understanding coming across the knight's face. "That makes a very great deal of sense, I think I understand where you were coming from now. Entire wars have been fought over power vacuums left by the absence of a legitimate heir. Though as you imply that does not necessarily preclude a loving parent-child relationship, it would make the motivations for having children in the first place much more political. I suppose I should count myself fortunate that was never a consideration with regards to our children." The elf's expression turned almost embarrassed at this point, and a slight flush creeped across the bridge of his nose. "They were ah... entirely accidental. I was so accustomed to the way it works for elves, who can go centuries without ever conceiving, I honestly didn't even think about the fact that my wife was not an elf. It did not take very long at all for nature to remind me of the physiological differences." Belial explains that he only gets angry under rare circumstances that aren't likely to come up where Alain is concerned. Then the elf elaborates a little on his previously mentioned idea that elves usually employ passive rather then active resistance to a problem, to explain the lack of upheaval over his marrying Morgaine. Then he agrees with Alain's point about noble children, and somewhat sheepishly admits his own where the result of less planning and politics and more um... enthusiasm and "whoops."
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Post by Celestial on Sept 5, 2014 17:32:50 GMT -5
"You are quite right, I have no intention of harming anybody you care about. Aside from the fact that it serves absolutely none of my interests, I do not indulge in pointless cruelty anyway. Nor do I wish to make any comments regarding your honour, especially since I do not yet know you well enough to make a judgement, even if I did wish to hurt you. In short, Sir Belial, we should have no quarrels with each other, unless of course one of us says something profoundly stupid," Alain replied with a smile on his face. As Belial explained about the elven resistance to his marriage, understanding came across Alain's face and he gave a curt nod. "That must have certainly been a relief, to be tolerated. Passive resistance is much easier to live and deal with than active resistance. Of course, it is not ideal but it is better than being called heretical or attacked for defying the normal. Though from what you told me, I imagine it must have annoyed her, having to deal with the stubborness of those of your people who refused to accept her." He nodded again, though this time it was a slower nod of acknowledgement. "Though a war is extreme, the lack of a clear heir can cause a lot of political strife, and I for one have no desire for that to befall on Bern. Especially since I would like this region to stay within the control of my House. While it never bothered me, I am of the opinion that ordinary people are lucky to not have this burden on them when it comes to their families," Alain explained calmly but at Belial's remark, he raised an eyebrow, trying to hide the amused smirk creeping across his face. However, when the knight began to go red, he gave a good-hearted laugh at Belail's embarrassment and grinned. "There are some things which can only be found out through experience. Though you pointed out quite correctly yourself, humans breed like rabbits. There have been far worse accidents in the history of the world, Sir Belial, and by the way you talk about them, you do not seem to regret what happened at all." Alain has no reason to make Belial angry or hurt him, so they will be fine as long as derps are avoided with a knowing glance at his writer and then says they were lucky to not get more trouble, though he figures Morgaine was still annoyed by the elves. He then goes on to talk more about nobles, their families and how it is nice for the peasants to not worry about it. Belial's embarrassment amuses him, because of course, before he points out that his kids are the good kind of accident, surely?
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Post by Shinko on Sept 5, 2014 20:52:38 GMT -5
The elf looked up at the ceiling with a half amused, half sheepish expression. “I try my hardest not to say stupid things. It is a constant battle for me to keep my foot out of my mouth, but I simply take it one day at a time, as anyone with a nonfatal chronic illness must.” Belial was a little surprised that Alain seemed to take it for granted that they would interact further. The grand duke had commented that he didn't know Belial very well “yet.” Well it was going to be a long war, and the elves would probably call on his dubious expertise with humans again if they needed to parlay with the human commanders in anything aside from direct combat planning. It was perhaps not an unfounded assumption. “I don't regret it at all,” he went on, with a wistful grin. “It was a surprise, but easily the best one I'd ever gotten. Though we mutually agreed that two pregnancies was rolling the genetic dice more than enough times...” He trailed off at this, his eyes darkening slightly as he remembered their third child; Sieg's twin brother Nikolas. Nikki hadn't survived his infancy, due to complications from the hybridism. But babies dying was hardly an uncommon occurrence, and he wasn't inclined to dwell on it much. It was entirely likely that Alain too had lost children before they reached adulthood. His thoughts were interrupted by a rustling at the tent flap, and Belial looked up in surprise. An elven woman with short cropped hair and deep crimson eyes poked her head into the tent, a look of relief and slight annoyance on her face. “ Sir Braham, there you are, it's time for-,” the woman cut herself off when she noticed Alain, and bowed her head. “Ah, my lord, I did not see you there.” Belial stood quickly, gesturing to the elven woman. “Your Grace, this is Commander Anri Hasek; she is in charge of the Nid'aigle company. Commander, this is Grand Duke Alain Stallion. He came to talk to one of us about the elvenborn, since they are not common in Bern.” The woman walked into the tent the rest of the way, saluting to the nobleman. “Forgive me for not recognizing you, your Grace. You honor us with your presence.” Belial employs some self-depreciating humor, admitting that he's often rather socially awkward and can on occasion say stupid things unintentionally. He talks some more about his children, thinking for a minute about Sieg's twin who didn't make it but shaking the grief off after a moment since... y'know, Middle Ages, infant mortality was common.
And then Anri comes looking for Belial, presumably since he's been missing for a while. Alain can talk to her if he wants to, I doubt she'd be so rude as to turn down the Grand Duke. Or he can ask her to leave if he wants to keep talking to Belial alone. Or whatever he'd prefer to do, your call Celes.
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Post by Celestial on Sept 6, 2014 15:21:00 GMT -5
Alain gave a small laugh at the mention of Belial's foot-in-mouth syndrome. "I have noticed, especially concerning your slip-up about your children. However, there are far worse character flaws than that. Having your foot in your mouth is usually harmless, as long as you do not seek to deliberately hurt the other party. Only a fool takes offence at something not intended to be offensive, since they just create more trouble for themselves. I, for one, am more likely to be amused more than anything." He allowed himself the tiniest frown as he tried to work out what exactly Belial meant by 'genetic dice' before he remembered what the knight had said: that his wife was human and his children were therefore half-human and half-elf. There was no doubt that the hybridism would cause some problems as elves and humans clearly had biological differences. However, the way that Belial suddenly drifted off, as though a veil had settled over him, implied that he knew these effects from bitter experience. Although it did not show in Alain's pose or expression, he sympathised. The loss of a child was a painful one, which he himself knew well, to say nothing of the losses of his many siblings. Though the reasons for their deaths, the harshness of winter and the illnesses it brought, were different, the pain was still the same. Just as Alain was about to move on from the topic, they were interrupted by somebody else. The sound of elvish flowed into his ears, indicating the visitor to be another one of the Nid'aigle knights and by Belial's attitude, his superior. This was only confirmed when she was introduced to him. While it was a surprise to him to see a female knight, Alain betrayed none of it. They were almost non-existant among the human forces but of course, there was no doubt the elves thought differently aboutt his subject. Well, it did not matter. As long as she was competent, which she had to have been in order to rise to the rank of Commander, that was all that mattered. Alain too, stood up as he was addressed by Commander Anri and gave her a polite nod in response to the salute. "The pleasure is all mine, Commander, and it is quite alright, we have not met so it is fair for you to not recognise me. In fact, I must apologise to you for stealing away one of your knights from his duty, though Sir Belial had been very good company. I have learned quite a bit about your kin that I would not have had the opportunity to learn otherwise," his eyes grew more serious, "However, if you have some task for him, I do not wish to keep him from fulfilling it. I am sure that even with this lull, I have my own work to be getting on with." Alain doesn't mind foot-in-mouth since it's harmless and usually not intended to be offensive. He ponders for a minute what Belial means befre realising and therefore extrapolating about his lost child. There is a silent moment of sympathy, since Alain has lost both kids and very young siblings. However, that is interrupted when Anri walks in. Alain is a bit surprised to see a female knight but he doesn't mind at all and addresses her politely, apologising for stealing away Belial but saying he was grateful for the interesting conversation before offering him back. Up to you whether she needs him back badly, Shinko.
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Post by Shinko on Sept 6, 2014 20:29:57 GMT -5
Anri glanced at Belial, her expression neutral save for a slight lift in her eyebrow. “So how much of this conversation was actually about the elvenborn, and how much was about your family, Sir Braham?” The male elf shrugged, grinning sheepishly. “You know me far too well, Commander. Though to be fair I was trying to reign it in until his Grace prompted the topic.” “No doubt because you kept slipping references into utterly unrelated discussions,” she said dryly. The woman crossed her arms behind her back, standing at military ease. “All the same, I am glad you found Sir Braham's company agreeable. He is an affable fellow, if a bit too eager to talk about certain topics with a great deal of personal bias.” Belial said nothing to this, though from his expression it was clear this conversation was an old joke rather then any legitimate chiding on Anri's part. One certainly wouldn't have been able to tell from her behavior, since her face and voice were both deliberately neutral. “Seeing as he is one of my squad leaders, however, I do need him back,” she went on, allowing a trace of apology to enter her expression. “If you would like to talk to him further I can certainly make time for it, but the Jade knights who we rode in with are asking that we send along one of our squads to patrol the forest outside Konik while they take their turn doing so.” “And mine is the only squad who's leader speaks fluent Kythian and can understand the Jade knights,” Belial supplied. “All of us have to know some basic words, and all the normal combat commands. Charge, retreat, hold, and so on. But only about a fifth of us speak Kythian with any sort of fluency, and of those many are...” he cleared his throat, “Lamentably longen displaced from tyme, and whence first bigan to learn the noblese tongue of men, twas early in it's lyf and nigh unrecognizable from what ye would knowst now.” Anri glanced aside at Belial. “You've lost your knack for doing it that way.” He chuckled. “I know. But it doesn't really matter since no one except scholars talk like that anymore in any case.” “Still, the point he makes is accurate,” Anri went on. “Since his disposition seems agreeable with you, however, if you like I can assign Sir Braham to parlay between us and your people for the duration of the conflict. Or at least until he is rendered incapable of doing the task.” The male elf's face was a study of blank astonishment. She would what now? Him, a go between for the elves and the nobles? Belial glanced at Alain, a slightly sardonic expression on his face. So the Grand Duke had been right after all. Anri does want her socially awkward translator back, but somewhat to Belial's surprise, offers to assign him to play go-between for the elves and the human commanders since Alain seems to like him.
Also I suck at middle English. XD
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Post by Celestial on Sept 7, 2014 13:01:26 GMT -5
Alain gave a small laugh at the chiding that Belial was appearently recieving before smiling and shaking his head. "I found out enough about the elvenborn and I am hardly a single-minded man, I can have interest in more topics than just your kin. Though you are right, it was very obvious that he wished to speak about them so I thought I would indulge Sir Belial. I brought it up, therefore I had to reap what I sowed. Besides, it was hardly an unpleasant discussion, to be fair to Sir Belial. I enjoyed listening to him talk about his family," he told Anri in a light, joking tone. Even though she was very business-like, there was no sense of reproach in her voice and certainly Belial was not taking what she was saying as if it was. There was no need for him to defend the elf knight if he was not in trouble. Nevertheless, he felt like he should give his own thoughts on the matter, both for the sake of the Commander and for Belial's sake, just to let him know the conversation was appreciated. However, as the conversation took a more serious turn, Alain's expression became more neutral and he gave Anri a nod. "It is quite alright. I am satisfied with the conversation we have had so far and it is for both out benefit that I do not interfere with the workings of your squad. Especially if Sir Belial here is one of the few who can actually communicate with the soliders in a manner in which they will understand," he slightly grinned at the old Kythian as he parsed through the words in his head. "I doubt a good many of the human soldiers serving here have enough of an education to understand that. Even I had to think about the meaning for a few moments and I have some training in old Kythian. But in a combat situation, I'm sure you know you don't have those moments. So I understand why you have need of him." Alain kept his expression the same as Anri made her proposition but he cast a glance at Belial anyway, meeting his gaze. The brief look in his eyes was one that was best described as one of 'I told you so' befre he turned back to Anri and nodded his head. "That would be excellent, Commander, especially in light of what you said. We were just discussing something similar, in fact and I'm sure Sir Belial would be the best person for the job, assuming it does not infringe on his other duties. But I have faith that if it did, you would not assign him to that role," he gave Belial a smile. "Good luck." He cleared his throat and looked between the two elf knights. "I best leave you to get on with your tasks then, since I feel like this silence on the front will not last long. We have to be prepared for when the fighting begins again, all of us. It has been a pleasure meeting you both, Sir Belial, Commander Anri. I have learned much today, thank you," he gave them a nod of acknowledgement in turn before striding past them and out of the tent. Once the flap closed behind him with a light flutter, the Grand Duke turned out of the barrack and back up towards the main fortress of Konik where his own quarters were. He was certainly plenty to think about in light of this conversation, both good things and bad things. Nonetheless, it had been a worthwhile conversation and the knowledge he gained from it could certainly be useful. He hoped he would run into Belial again, if not during the war then maybe after. Alain speaks up for Belial, even though he realises he doesn't have to so he does it in a non-serious way, more to give Belial feedback more than anything. He is happy to let Belial get on with his job, especially since old Kythian is hard and most of the soldiers probably don't understand it, and likes the idea of making Belial the go-between for the human and elf knights. Afterwards, he leaves them to get on with all their respective jobs, since they're in the middle of a war and all, and reflects a bit on the conversation.
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