The Kneeling King
One after the other, her fellows of the chateau would raise their voice and voice their loyalty to Lord Rodias, some with reverence and some formal, while oters still did so with disgenuine tone or far too many words than needed. Still, it seemed all was right in the world, even this new one, as all of the chateau still stood united and together under one banner - a new banner, belonging to their remaining Sable Lord, just as it should. However, this brief moment of blissful unity and common agreement was short-lived it would seem.
The catalyst of this discord was the general of the goblins, Gromgard, who offered to send his greenskin midgets to
scout the village mentioned to be at the foot of the mountain upon which the chateau new rested. Ashara was not a smart woman, nor skilled in the art of military tactics or strategem, but as far as she understood it, Lord Rodias wanted information from
within the village itself. Now, things might be different in this new world, bt back in YGGDRASIl - if a goblin entered a human village, there was quite an uproar and any local guards would seek to expunge the little viridian dwarf as fast as possible. Was Gromgard not aware of this? Or did he think he could obtain the information needed from afar? As far as Ashara knew, goblins did not possess partiuclarly impressive haring, nore farsight... But perhaps things worked differently in these new lands? Perhaps the villagers weren't human to begin with? Nothing was cerrtain yet.
However, once the general of goblins had made his offer to Lord Rodias, one of Kaldorna's aides piped up, offering a similar proposal, but with his brethren and fellow hunters in place of goblins. Granted, vampires looked more human than goblins, but their mounts as well as their equipment was rather...
Intense. Also the fact that they were all bloodsuckers who would wander into what was litteraly a smorgasbord of free food might cause some complications if one of them gave in to their instincts and desires... Somehow, it didn't seem like a safe choice to Ashara, but since she was not aware of how much self-discipline and restraint Kaldorna's merry band of huntsmen had, she refraimed from saying anything in regards to this as well.
Following this was Light - the strange
thing that guarded the castle's vault, an individual Ashara had had very little contact or interactions with, as her patrols through the chateau did not include the vault itself. She seemed oddly disconcerned about the whole thing, and her little pep-talk about the loss of the other Sable Lords and Creators did not seem to have the uplifting effect she had intened - rather, it seemed to have the opposite, especially for Ashara who now remembered just how long Lady Deka_Ribbon had been gone... She had been away for so very, very long now. Longer than any of the other Great Ones in fact, even though she had said before leaving that she would be back soon. A small frown crept across the demon fox face, before her ears perked up at the last line spoken by Light...
Free? What did she mean? Admittedly, Ashara had been lost in thought and not paid attention properly, but it almost sounded like the creature wanted to strike out on its own and do whatever it pleased...
Next up was Lady Kath, the usually quiet and docile librarian. Ashara liked patrolling the library, the many books and tomes with the words and wisdom of th Creators, coupled with that special scent of paper and bindings was a pleasant and comforting notion, not to mention the quiet and cleanliness of the chapter was quite relaxing. Still, she now suggestecd caution and excersising
The baton than passed to little lord Salem, Chapter Keeper of the first floor. He, who had previously displayed rather inappropriate bbehavior and manners while attending the meeting, was now dismissing both the goblin master's and the hunter's offers, inplicating that the two groups would either raze, plunder or otherwise ravage the settlement. Ashara found it odd that he, who had acted and been so brazen in his actions thus far, was suggesting others were incapable of self-control. Still, the disaster didn't end there, no. Now the dreadful little deviant doll was trying to rope Ashara into his plans, suggesting himself and she go to the village, under the pretext of being siblings. Admittedly, Ashara's hman form was flawless, and with her illusion magic, it would be easy to make Lord Salem look like a real boy, but before she could even respond to this idea, someone else did.
That someone was Gradt, the manager of the factory and Chapter Keeper of the second floor. The Fodder Baron began by shooting down both General Gromgard's and Kaldrona's aide's ideas, proposing much the same situation as Salem had. The man then turned to the doll, and mockingly chuckled as he pointed out
flaws, as well as poking fun at both the haunted toy's as well as Ashara's garments.
He thinks my clothes are strange? Was the only thing Ashara could think of at that moment. What was strange about them? Plenty of people in YGGDRASIL wore similar attire, there was no strict dress-code there, so why would there be one here? Furthemore, this outfit was made by Lady Deka_Ribbon herself, by hand, just for Ashara. Surely the man did not mean to say that one of the Creator's,
her Creator, had poor taste in fashion? Besides, if anything, his outfit was far more bizarre and unsuited for travels than hers, he looked like one of those employees at the Bank, where the Creators went to store particular items or money sometimes...
... Of course, the baron's ultimate goal was nothing else but a simple, selfish ruse. Of course,
he was the right man for the job. Granted, a merchant would be inconspicious, even Ashara knew that travelling merchants were a common sight back home in YGGDRASIl, but... The items and wares that the Factory produced, along with Lord Graft's smell and appearance, left one to question whether he was self-aware of his own being or not. There was a reason Ashara did not like patrolling the Factory, apart form the terrible aesthetics of the place. Still, the baron's words seemed to enrage the goblin general, who spoke up and challenged both lords of the first and second floor.
The bickering continued, all the while Ashara remained quiet and calm, sitting in her seat after having risen from her kneeling once Rodias was helped onto his feet by Mamoru the maid. Her tails were almost still, only the very tips lightly moving just a bit. While the entire ordeal was unbecoming and inelegant, it was not her place to do anything about it. The primary debaters were the Chapter Keeprs, and even if they acted uncouth and rowdy, she was in no position to try and silence or reprimand them. However, her fellow canine-blood Aurora, obviously did not share this entiment, as the wolf-girl tried - in her own way - to get the bickering Keepers to hold their tongues and wait for the decision of Lord Rodias. An agreeable suggestion, proper and correct, but the wolf had no business being the one to mention it.
All in all, things were a right mess, and if Ashara hadn't been who she was, she might have sighed and rolled her eyes. However, instead, as she was the way she was, she merely kept quiet and looked on, watching events unfold. This was a disagreement among the higher echelons of the Chateau, and only Lord Rodias had the authority to quell i-
In the Banshee's Wake.
Laughter. Joyless, cold, insincere laughter. And the source of it? The very same person who had been by Lord Rodias at the start of the meeting. The very same person who had set up all those distasteful objects and made a barrier between the Chateau's elite and their Lord. The very same person who had, for each arrival, pointed her gun at them as they arrived on the request of their Master. The source was Chuunitrixx, and among all the Chapter Keeprs, she was by far Ashara's least favorite. Wheenever the fox did her duties, per the instructions of all the Lords of Bandersnatch, the harpy would still take pot-shots and get her in way whenever she patrolled the sixth floor. She was rude, uncooperative and quite frankly, seemed to have more than one screw loose.
The Chapter Keeper of the ruined cityscape then proceed to speak, haughty and arrogant, in a condescending fashion, to her peers. She insulted each and every one of them, admonishing those who had argued by who to send tot he village, disrespecting those she found to be lower than herself, insulting heritage and intelligence. Indeed, the scene prior had been nothing short of deplorable, but adding sharp-tongued words and vulgar insults was no way to handle it, in fact, it would have the opposite effect if anything. Well, at least that's what Ashara thought - being called a mutt didn't much bother her though, Lady Chuunitrixx wasn't exactly a skilled griller, and if the only flaw she could find with Ashara and Aurora was that they were of a canine species, then her insults were about as harmful as a grain of sand in one's shoe.
However.HOW-EVER.What the Chapter Keeper did next was so repulsive, so vile and so outright wrong that it could not be considered anything but both a travesty and treason at the same time. This ...
Tramp, had the audacity to state that she neither needed to prove anything, nor had time for this. No time for
this? A summons by her Master? A meeting assembled by the only Creator still remaining by their side? She did not have
time for this? Who did she think she was? Apparently, she thought herself to be Lord Rodias'
best friend, as she claimed so while leaving.
Ashara's tails were still now, completely frozen. Her eyebrows were lowered and she had a displeased look on her face. HAd this woman just dared call herself the
best friend of their Lord? There was arrogance and hubris, and the there was delusions. Had it not been for the presence of the others, along with Lord Rodias himself, the fox would likely have done something uncharacteristic, and possibly slapped the wench for her insolence... Still, that kind of behavior was unbefitting herself and would only serve to cause further discord. Hopefully, Lord Rodias' promise about
speaking to the presumptious hag would include a few, choice words and a reminder of her own position as well as who she, and he, was in relation to one another.
After this moment of unpleasantness though, things took a nice, refreshing turn.
Clever Words, Gentle Embrace.
After the depature of Chuunitrixx, Lord Rodias spoke once again. Though there was no need for their master to apologize on behalf of the raving banshee, he did so regardless. Instantly, Ashara's mood improved somewhat. It improved further when their lord began to explain the missions and commands for each of them that he had decided upon. It seemed he had slightly different ideas than what the majority had asked for or suggested, but it was nontheless commands and orders that were sensible and sound, as one would expect from a Supreme Being. It also seemed that lord Salem's request would be partially fulfilled, as she herself was tasked with investigating the settlement, but along with lady Kath rather than the tiny lord of dolls... Oh well, at least things were being settled now.
When their Lord asked if the shrine maidens would be fine without her, Ashara merely nodded slowly. In truth, Mikoto was the one more or less running the shrine from day-to-day, seeing as Ashara's duties took her away from it each and every single day. The meeting adjourned, and each one of them had received instructions on what or where to go and do, albeit some more than others. Irising from her seat, Ashara was about to walk over and speak to her new travelling companion, but was rather suddenly intercepted as someone ambushed her tails.
The familiar voice of Mamoru then sounded from behind her. Of course it was her, nobody else - apart from maybe the younger shrine maidens - were so physically direct with her, not that she minded. She didn't mind at all. The fox giggled at the maid's mock-envy.
"Fufufu~ I do not think it will be all that exciting, Miss Mamoru. If anything like that were to happen, I am certain Lady Kath would resolve it most splendidly without the need for my meagre skills." She said, looking back over her shoulder with a gentle smile. It was nice to have the tense, unpleasant air and memory of the meeting washed away with a bit of silly but warm antics like this, every once in a while at least. Plus, it wasn't like Ashara disliked her tails brushed and touched, so long as the one doing it wasn't too rough or stroked them the wrong way.
"Still, you should hurry along with General Gromgard. Goblins can get into all sorts of trouble and mischief if left unsupervicsed, they are rather troublesome little creatures." And there it was, Ashara's penchant for saying too much and being too honest, without actualyl meaning anything harmful or trying to be insulting. She didn't mean to pick on or mock the goblins, she was merely stating her honest opinion based on her own experiences with the creatures. Some found this amusing, others... Not so much.
She let the maid nuzzle and fluff a bit longer, before carefully getting her tails to slink away, gently brushing te dragonoid's chees and forearms as they escaped her greedy clutches. Giving a slight, courteous bow to her co-worker and friend, she moved on towards Kath's seat. Stopping a bit to the side and behind, she spoke to her superior in her calm, graceful and serene tone of voice.
"Lady Kath, it seems we are to travel together. I shall be at your command as well as in your care, I will do my best to not disappoint or hinder our mission." She bowed, slightly more so than she had done to Mamoru. "Is there something you would like to do before we leave? Or something you need to take care of?" She asked politely, smiling as she often did.
