From his perch on Vasilia’s lap, Dolce strains to twist bloody red branches of thought into the real thing. What does it look like? Is it red? Red does seem appropriate. It would stand out against the blue, utterly unignorable. Probably a scary sight to see suddenly appear in the sky. For as long as you had one, anyway. What are the barracks like? How do they know when it’s their turn to fight? Do they even take turns? 

Do they do anything that isn’t for fighting?

[i]Consider also that nothing here is accidental.[/i]

It is only the second example he’s seen with his own eyes, as it were. Up until now, it’s always been the Skies. This? This is what the Ceronians built when they at last overthrew the Azura. They built, with no one left to stand in their way. And this. This. They built. This. 

Do they remember every battle? [i]Every[/i] battle, from the first to the two hundred and fourteenth? Do they compare the skylines they’re bombarding with ones they’ve torn down before? Do they know the names of the people they slaughter?

Do they remember the Skies at all?

[i]What do [b]they[/b] have which is so worth striving for?[/i]

Dolce runs a fingers along the weaving thread of his collar[1]. His bell is respectfully silent.

“How do the Skies get anything done here?” Is the question he asks. “The Service will be at work here too, and countless other people. How do they work without losing themselves in their surroundings?” Is what he says after that.

Vasilia’s is the hand he holds. Soft skin squeezing sharp claws.

 
 
[1]: He has returned to the comfortable vests and aprons he loves so much, but the collar remained. Not the silver one, no. This one was a gift from a secret Ceronian admirer, who hand-delivered it with her two honor guards at a pre-arranged meeting point, but you didn’t hear it from me. This one is a woven band of some gentle yet strong fabrics, dyed in Vasilia’s colors. 

His pretty clothes answer to Mistress Vasilia, and right now they belong to her alone. The collar is a reminder. Especially for the two of them.