Level_5

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

You know, I'm not sure actually -- I never used it. I really like the idea of the Wonder Trading in x/y, though. I want to send useful Pokemon to random strangers halfway across the globe! :D

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

As usual, Asbel woke with the sun. The eponymous rosy fingers of dawn reached through the half-parted curtains to touch his eyes and coax him awake. He rose without a word. Uneasiness would do him no good; uncertainty would do him no good. Getting ready and joining the others at Cassius's pen -- that was all he needed to do. Whatever happened after that, would happen, and there was certainly nothing he could do to avert the disaster anyhow.

He owned very few possessions, and what he did posses was not designed for adventuring. Asbel's entire life was supposed to have been spent in the palace, in this sumptuous square of a room. The phoenix gathered what he could -- a shirt with long, flared sleeves and a scarlet waistcoat. There were soft leather boots tucked in a chest beneath his bed, never worn, and these he pulled on with (ugh) socks as well. His pants would have to suffice, as would the short traveling coat he had been given that was more artistic than functional: the bands of gold and copper thread skirting the edges turned what should have been a practical item into a sunset. But ah well. He would not remove his earrings, either, and if they were attacked on the road, he would doubtlessly be the first one targeted.

He was halfway through buttoning the waistcoat when Bacchus slammed his way into the room, and Asbel startled, green eyes wide with surprise. But, yes, it was indeed the sorcerer, and Asbel returned to dressing himself with a shrug. "I would not go against the Oracle, Bacchus," he replied in polite resignation. "But I thank you for your luck. I regret that I cannot supply you with any last-minute feathers: I have been told that the leader of the Northern lands is ill and will need my assistance."

---

Augustine, taking care of a few final arrangements before he left for the pens, was not present as Cassius opened the door to the youngest of the princes. Unlike Asbel, the dragon did not like wearing his human form, but housing him as a beast would have been too expensive, even for the royal family. As such, he opened the door with a human hand, faint scales on his wrist and cheek all that marked him as once a reptile. His black hair was cut short, as short as Augustine's military cut, and his mouth was as somber as the eldest prince's was smiling. Dark brown eyes took in Frey's traveling clothes (he did so resemble his older brothers), before the dragon stepped aside to allow the prince entrance.

The room was far plainer than some of the other dragons' abodes, but even so, it was beautiful. If Cassius had one weakness, it was a taste for color, and the stained glass windows high up on the curving walls glowed with morning light, cast pools of blue and green onto the wide, well-carpeted floor. The bare stone walls, otherwise grey, were shot through with glowing stones from the western caves, and the lights, altogether, cast strange hues across the black and brackish green clothes Augustine had arranged for him. For furniture, there stood only the bed, neatly made, and a wardrobe for a sparse collection of human clothes. Bags and packs waited near the door, as did the flight harness and necessary saddlery for the first (and only) portion of the trip to be made by air.

"Prince Frey." The dragon nodded once as a good morning, and closed the door behind his first visitor. "I am pleased to see you unharmed."

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

Noo, alas, just Pokemon Black. I still have to buy a 3DS and I might commit to Fire Emblem Awakenings before I get Pokemon. Either way, I need to wait for summer, lol.

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

GOOD! Worth it!!

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

As close as Frey seemed to confessing, Augustine bit back the urge to press him. The prince would confess in his own time, and Augustine could do nothing to prompt him -- not without driving a deeper wedge between them than there was already. Whatever Frey had to say, the young man would speak in his own time. The prince-apparent could always have asked the Oracle about his younger brother, as the woman clearly knew more than she let on, but such an invasion of Frey's privacy was more than Augustine could consider. Even if he was a brat and a rotten egg most days, Cassius knew there was a lighter side to the boy, and Augustine trusted the dragon's judgment.

So as Frey fell back into an awkward silence, Augustine again rested a hand on his shoulder and pressed it gently before letting go of his own accord. "We will have time to speak," he agreed, voice low and soft. "And when you are ready, I will listen. I will protect you beyond the castle walls, and Cassius will, too. Between us, you and Asbel will be just fine." The prince tried for an encouraging smile, though Frey's mood seemed darker than he would be able to lift alone. "Try not to worry about tomorrow. Get some rest, and I will see you at breakfast."

With that, and with one final pat on the shoulder, the elder brother left the younger, his own room close by in the adjoining wing.

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

Ahhhh wait flaw in plan: X and Y are lame only that you actually can't catch anything in the Whimsicott tree. You have to transfer one from Black or White. ):

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

Will do! Although I have to go to bed soon. D: My last post has been posted. Fare you well into the night~

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

Asbel returned Frey's glare, though he was more wounded then angry, and turned his back on both the brothers as they left the room. One perk of being holed up in the castle was that he had very few possessions and essentially nothing to pack. As such, he waited until both princes were safely out of the room before he relaxed and dimmed the lights again -- this time for his own benefit. Sleeping now would be safe; his nemesis would not, surely, be bothering him again tonight.

As such, the phoenix slid into his mess of cushions and blankets and curled up beneath the soft flannel. He glowed, softly, in the dark -- the soft and golden halo of an infant star, but Asbel was used to that, had been used to it since before he could remember, and he fell asleep despite the continued luminescence.

The morning would be daunting -- a challenge as yet insurmountable. Weeks' travel with Frey and his insincere apologies? Ah, but at least Prince Augustine would be coming, too..

---

Augustine followed his brother out of the room and touched a hand to Frey's shoulder in hesitant comfort. He did love his brother, for all the hell that the younger boy put him through. And he was not so blind these days to his siblings' moods that he would miss the beginnings of tears on his younger brother's lashes. Cassius always implied (with impossible vagueness) that there was more to Frey than what met the eye, but even the wise, wise dragon was difficult to believe on that count; not even tears could fully shake Augustine's impression of Frey as an inveterate troublemaker.

"What bothers you?" he asked, speaking softly, amber eyes gleaming with concern in the dimly-lit hall. Even as he asked, he began to steer Frey away from the phoenix's bedroom and back up toward the proper floor. "You can speak to me, brother. I know you do not often leave the castle and I did not mean the Oracle's orders to come so suddenly or as such a shock."

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

YES! Flood the world with wonderful fluffy hugs. <3

[Skybreaker] Envieux [Level_5]

I'M RIGHT THERE WITH YOU SON. NOTHING CAN MATCH THAT CLOUD OF COTTON FLUFF.