Ghis (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"I think he dismisses it because their relationship is mostly silent. But I catch them sitting together, leaning on each other and watching the moon rise some nights. Warwick watches over her every day to make sure she's comfortable. They still mourn their losses, but they find something in each other that Brian and Ashelin had. It's sad, but it's also beautiful."

 

[heartofcourage]

"May either of us find someone like that if we lose one another." Kate said softly, nuzzling against Kell as he told her about Warwick and Marianne. "Though I hope that moment is far, far in our future. I don't want to think about you not being here."

 

[KieranSoares]

Kell nuzzled back against her before scooping her up and taking her to curl up in the cushioned windowsill, the curtain drawn so she didn't have to worry about dressing. And that was where they stayed for some time before dressing to continue with their afternoon.

 

[heartofcourage]

When Kate left his offices, she was calmer than she had been. Not even lords trying to get her attention int he great hall bothered her. Many of them needed her advice, a few wanted funds, some were even asking her opinion on foreign alliances and marriages. She simply told them that those choices were up to them. She would not weigh in on matters of the heart.

Once she was done with that, she went to visit Qira again, mildly amused that the panther was up and out of bed. "Kell will pitch a fit if he sees you."

 

[KieranSoares]

"He's welcome to," Qira muttered, now in his own quarters tending to his weapons, the quiet rasp of a whetstone against a blade ringing in the relative peace of his private space. He'd welcomed Kate in, letting her join him in the room she'd never seen before. It was sparse for proper decor, instead filled with strange items and weapons from afar that all had some secret story. A large hide rug of some beast Kate had never seen before lay on the stone floor, and blankets made from other strange creatures were draped over the chairs neatly. Odd weapons and totem-like items lined a few shelves along with books in a vast array of languages, all little pieces to the mysterious Panther.

"Sit down," he welcomed quietly, motioning to the large armchair before the fire. He was perched on the edge of the hearth, where the odd spark wouldn't catch anything flammable.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I see you made yourself at home." Kate said, looking around at Qira's inner world as she took a seat in the chair that he offered for her. "It makes me smile to see everyone fitting in around here. A change over between the old and the new."

 

[KieranSoares]

"It's certainly a big change, at least for myself," Qira murmured. "I've never lived in anything bigger than an inn room." He glanced around at his space, the room generous for space, more so than any typical room at an inn. "Kell insisted I have plenty of space. I don't know if he expects me to pick up some kind of hobby." He smiled lightly at that, a rarity for the great Panther.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Maybe he expects you to settle down and have a few children." Kate said with a grin towards the panther. "He's turning into quite the family man without a family of his own now that I've convinced him to get married and run off to Edinburgh."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm not family material, trust me," Qira assured her. "I'm more of a background character in the lives of those I look after. Which is fine by me. Even if I come away with scars, I like my work. It makes a difference, defending a young queen who changes nobles' outlooks."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You might come to regret that one of these days." Kate said with a small laugh as she looked over his selection of books on a nearby shelf. "A stubborn queen who is determined to get herself killed due to her stubborn nature early in her reign. Are you sure you're up to that task?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"I will die before you do," he assured her as he followed her gaze to the books. There were titles in Germanic and Latin languages that she was at least familiar with, but then there were scripts and languages she only vaguely recognized from some of the African Erygonians' writing in Egyptian and Swahili. Arabic, Indian, and Chinese were also present, even Russian and Mongolian, and then a number that Kate didn't recognize at all. "I enjoy language," he muttered to explain the wide array. "I speak a bit of everything. English is by far the hardest."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Well, why are we not practicing? All we ever do is speak Erygonian." Kate teased him, knowing that if he wanted to speak English with her, he would speak what English he knew.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I avoid English for two reasons," he explained. "I sound slow and stupid when I use it, and everyone knows English. If I want to keep secrets or personal conversations, I use one of my native languages. Very few people north of Africa know Swahili, and even fewer know Erygonian outside of werefolk." That was a new piece to his mystery, admitting he was from Africa, likely the east coast.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Perhaps you'll teach me some of these mysterious languages." Kate said, looking at the panther. "And I will teach you English."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm a bad teacher," Qira chuckled, but Kate had come to see that it was really just a natural shyness that the professional assassin had probably had all his life. His job required confidence and finesse, but genuine social situations were a little overwhelming for him beyond. He seemed particularly comfortable with Kate and Kell, but there were still things he wasn't confident in.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I don't believe that for a moment." Kate said as she turned towards Qira fully. "I don't think you're really bad at anything. You might have convinced yourself that you were, but I see otherwise."

 

[KieranSoares]

Qira shook his head, though his smile remained. "You can believe what you like. I'm not foolish enough to try to outwit your stubbornness like Kell." He had always been fairly agreeable to her, in part to bother Kell when he disagreed with her, and in part because he knew that Kate would do as she pleased, and the best thing Qira could do was be at her side rather than trying to hold her back. It was often safer for her that way too, keeping her from sneaking away without him. And he kept some secrets for her that even Kell didn't know.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I will try my hardest to not be contrary when it comes to you. Don't tell Kell." Kate said with a soft laugh as she settled in to spend an afternoon with Qira.

 

[KieranSoares]

"It'll be... fun. To listen to him wonder why we don't argue much. He already asks fairly often." Qira smiled over to her, setting back to honing his blades as they chatted.

Come the next morning, there was a bit of chatter around the castle as the mysterious Rissa arrived a while after breakfast, Kell helping her get settled. He'd told her in short that, because she did have a small farm, she was welcome to have a room at the castle but not required to be there constantly. Her main tasks would be more administrative, and she would learn primarily from Warwick and Kell.

As Kell walked through the halls with Rissa, giving her a tour of the upper floors, he turned their topic of conversation toward the more secretive. "You're aware of Kate's guardian, Qira, yes? I think it's time you met him. He'll be the one to convince other than Kate herself. He takes her well-being as seriously as I do, but he operates almost independently of everything I do and control. His only concern is Kate and her safety, and whatever she designates as requiring his guard as well. I'm sure you heard about the trouble on the border. Qira came back badly injured from that, so he's off-duty right now. But I'll bet the treasury that he's still keeping an eye on Kate from afar."

Kell paused before a door in the hall, knocking lightly and listening for a moment. "... I figured as much. He's supposed to be resting, and he's gone missing. I'm sure if we find Kate, he'll be nearby."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I suppose I'm not surprised. Your wife seems to be able to bring out the mischief in anyone." Rissa said, a small grin on her features as the Lord Protector went out of his way to try and make her feel at home. "Lord Protectors and guards alike."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You would be surprised at just how bad it can get," Kell smiled to himself. "She likes to get people to help her do dangerous and brave and stupid things. She has a strong sense of duty, but I wonder if she doesn't do it just to turn me grey."

They soon returned to the main hall and Kell glanced around. "If you ever need to find her, just look for the trail of annoyed, entitled lords that she's shot down." As if on cue, a young noble came storming out from one hall. "Ah, speak of the devil." He made his way toward the source of the outrage, finding Kate sitting with Warwick in a small meeting room, discussing a recent dispute of a farmer refusing to let his lord use his farmland to construct a new estate home. Warwick and Kate had supported the farmer, in part because the lord was already in debt and shouldn't be building more personal ventures, and because food was far more important, especially in an area with limited fertile ground.

Now winding down from that little fight with the lesser lord, Warwick and Kate were simply chatting. "Kate," Kell spoke up as he stepped in. "Where is that damned Panther?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"I won't tell." Kate said as she didn't even look up from Warwick when Kell stepped into the room with her new lady in waiting. "And you'll never find him."

 

[KieranSoares]

Kell rolled his eyes. "He wanted to meet Rissa today."

"I'm here," came Qira's low voice from behind Rissa, standing in the doorway. She was suddenly faced with a mountain of a Panther, his fur as dark as Kell's with very faint ghosts of former tribal designs in his fur, his amber eyes scanning over the room briefly before he looked down to Rissa. He dressed in full black, never allowing bits of color like Kell did, and he had a similar bandolier of tools and blades, and a short sword at his hip.

"Qira," Kell turned toward him. "This is Lady Rissa. I suppose rather than lady-in-waiting, I should really call her an apprentice adviser."

Qira's amber gaze looked over Rissa quickly, making an immediate note of how she held herself and how confident she seemed to be. "Welcome, miss," he murmured, his Erygonian accent heavy and his English a touch slow.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You had the chance to run, Qira." Kate said as she took a sip of her mug of tea while the panther stood there silently, speaking briefly in English as he surveyed Rissa standing there.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Qira." Rissa said in her slightly husky voice, nodding towards him as they met for the first time. "I'm sure that we will be working together quite a bit in the future."

 

[KieranSoares]

Qira nodded, extending a hand to shake. As with many people, Rissa could already see that Qira hadn't expected someone like her. No one ever did. For a lady-in-waiting, he'd expected someone more delicate, a typical court maiden. For an adviser, he'd expected someone older, perhaps very stern like Warwick, even severe. But Rissa was something separate, even at a glance. "I don't need to run," he muttered in Erygonian to Kate. "She seems just fine."

"If you want to speak with her, Qira," Kell spoke as he joined Kate's side. "I'll take over here."

"...Would you mind?" Qira asked Rissa quietly. "My English is... very bad."