Whispers of Rebellion

Lower Market District of Alexandria, afternoon.

Fall has arrived in Alexandria. The trees are beginning to turn colors, and there's a certain touch of the autumn chill in the air, a welcome reprieve for the warmth and heat of the Alexandrian summer. Mild and lovely, the market has adjusted in kind, with vendors selling various treats and snacks of all kinds.

One such snack has taken the attention of a sildanyari woman with glasses perched upon her nose. Her silver eyes, pale skin, and raven-dark hair are an identical match for the man next to her, also of sildanyari make. Her lips are painted a dark color that matches the shade of her robes. She looks like a stark contrast to the colorful world around her. "Interesting," she remarks dryly. "While Alexandria is famous as a melting pot of different peoples and cultures, I did not expect to see 'fusion cuisine' in the marketplace. This pastry with spiced pumpkin in it is intriguing to the taste."

"An, are you going to play food critic all day, or are you going to let all the nice people waiting in line get their food, too?" Cor'ethil Cari'thana asks with a teasing smile. "Mother is waiting on us, too."

Indeed, there's a stunningly beautiful sildanyari woman waiting off to the side, her white hair pulled up today into a bun that matches her daughter's. She seems to constantly be dressed to the nines in high fashion that might make a certain archmage's tailor blush in envy, with her dark gown ornamented in feathers and a rapier dangling from a belt on her hips. "Come along, my loves, we have furnishings to buy for Cor'ethil's little surprise."

Unaware of the group of sildanyari close to her, Auranar pauses nearby the pastry house with a thoughtful expression. She could easily make such a treat herself but sometimes getting something for ones self is better. The taste of not having to do the work she supposes. She notices the dark haired and silver-eyed woman then and offers her a friendly smile. "There's no rush, and enjoying the food is important. After all, if we eat it quickly without enjoying it what's the point?"

This part is offered more to the man talking to the woman than to the woman herself, but it's in defense of the woman's desire to enjoy what she's gotten. She smiles, but there's a shadow on her face of exhaustion and weariness that doesn't usually touch elves such as she. "I'm a baker, so I'd know."

GAME: Corey rolls Knowledge/Nature: (3)+15: 18

The woman--An, as Corey had called her--turns around to regard Auranar. She smiles quite lightly, the expression barely touching her mouth. "My apologies," she says. "When my brother and I got in line, no one was in it at all. It seems that you attract attention, Corey."

"More like Mother attracts attention," Cor'ethil mutters as he looks at their mother. Indeed, she has some people nearby whispering about her. "Who knew some people recognize old retired adventurers from a century ago in the human lands?"

"Mother was _very_ proficient in her work," An replies, before she steps forward, ushering Cor'ethil out of the line of people waiting for pastries and off to the side. "Even if the person she did the bulk of her work for was less than savory."

Cor'ethil then regards Auranar for a moment. "You look somewhat familiar, somehow...? Have we met before?"

Before Auranar can really answer, An notes, "Corey, please. Introductions are called for in social interactions. I am called Ansír Cari'thana. This is my twin brother, Cor'ethil Cari'thana. And our beloved Mother who is waiting on us is Faphinae Cari'thana."

Auranar offers her hand to An and then to Corey. "Please, call me Auranar Lupecyll-Atlon. You may have seen me around the Adventurer's Guild now and then, though... more likely the library if you frequent that. Any of them." She laughs lightly, her eyes flickering to the white-haired woman. "Your mother was an adventurer you say? Well I don't mean to keep you from her."

Auranar wishes that she could talk to them longer, but she doesn't want to be rude on what is clearly a family outing.

"Oh! Lupecyll-Atlon, you must be--" Corey begins, but then Ansír is clearly moved into excitement by something that Auranar says. Her silver eyes are bright with interest, and the smile on her lips widens marginally.

"I have yet to begin a comprehensive survey of the libraries present in Alexandria," Ansír replies. "However, I shall have to if it means I can meet you again within them."

This earns Ansír a look from her twin brother. "An. She's _married_. See, look at the ring?" Cor'ethil sighs. This casts a new light on the fact that Ansír's handshake with Auranar had been fractionally over-long.

Ansír stills immediately. "I mean no disrespect for your union of matrimony, merely to express my respectful... respect."

"Good one, An." Cor'ethil might have more to say to tease his sister, but then comes Faphinae, who walks forward with an eye at Auranar. He subtly stands up a little straighter as his mother approaches. "Mother, yes, sorry, we can get going--"

"No, no." Faphinae smiles brightly as she looks at Auranar. "It is not every day that you meet a descendant of the Feathered One out in the wild. Hello. Auranar, was it?" There's something off about her smile. It's just a little too high at the corners of her mouth. The mention of her married status should bring a smile to Auranar's lips but instead she frowns a little, worry darkening her brow as she thinks about Verna. About the fact that Verna is... (dying). "No disrespect taken. My wife..." She trails off, her eyes already starting to brim with tears. She doesn't want to talk about it. So she lets the words fall off as the other woman approaches and she offers the faintest of smiles as she is recognized as Grandfather's descendant.

"A somewhat new arrival to the family, but yes." She offers her hand to the woman, ignoring the feeling of unease at the woman's smile. "What might I call you?"

"Faphinae will do." The matriarch of the Cari'thana family smiles at Auranar, taking her hand. Faphinae's hands have very long black nails that remind one of bird talons. Even her skin is slightly cold to the touch in a way that the autumn ambient temperature can't explain. Yet the woman does not seem _fae_. "It's been some time since I last spoke with the Feathered One. However, I've run into the Archmage who has married into the family recently. Telamon. Son of someone I know off-hand, in fact. The world is a many-splendored thing in curiosities and coincidences."

She looks at Cor'ethil and Ansír for a moment. "Cor'ethil here is getting married. He's located a house for himself and his husband to live in outside of Alexandria as a surprise gift to his intended, so we happen to be here in the marketplace. Would you like to join us?"

Cor'ethil blinks at the offer, but he smiles brightly and nods. "I could use the extra set of eyes," he says. "Ansír's been vetoing all of my fun choices."

"Your furniture must be efficient and built to last," Ansír replies simply. "I vetoed your choices because I determined that they were not made to the standards that a sildanyari household would abide."

"_Where_ are we going to get furniture that lasts for the span of a sil lifetime in _Alexandria_, An?" Corey says in exasperation.

The two twins lightly bicker at each other as Faphinae leans in and says with a whisper, "There are things I would like to discuss with you about matters related to your family, should you be willing while my children are quite distracted."

Auranar blinks as Faphinae mentions her brother-in-law casually. She wonders how this woman came to know Telamon, but she smiles warmly at Cor'ethil instead, offering him her congratulations on his upcoming nuptials. "Congratulations on finding someone, the search may be long and arduous, but worthwhile." Her heart breaks saying the words, thinking of her own wife at home. They've been apart only a little while and she already misses Verna fiercely. She can't imagine what life without her will be like...

As the twins get to bickering, Auranar smiles softly at them, reminded of her and her sister though they hardly ever really argue. Even when they disagree it's clear that they still love one another. "Oh? Is something wrong?" She frowns a little, trying to prepare herself for more bad news.

Cor'ethil smiles at Auranar. "I appreciate your congratulations," he says. Notably, he doesn't thank her. It is somewhat common for sildanyari raised in the Greatwoods to not thank each other. But it's notable nonetheless. "I have to agree wholeheartedly. Even if my husband will only be with me for a short time... I must cherish what life is given."

The twins turn their attention to furniture being sold nearby, and Faphinae continues her sentiment at a softer volume. "I was curious about how things are at the moment in regards to certain matters. I have always respected your ancestor for his decisions. I, too, left the Court, but I have heard rumblings since then, and... Certain figures within the Court have also made a move against my family that I cannot abide." Her voice is carefully maintained, but there's a definite undercurrent of tension and anger lurking under her last few words. Someone has wronged Faphinae.

Auranar's ears almost perk up at the topic of conversation that Faphinae offers. So it seems that certain figures in the court are causing issues elsewhere besides with her family. "I can confirm that something odd is going on." She says just as quietly, trying not to disturb the shopping as they follow the twins. "Now may not be the best time for this conversation but... A certain captain has been spotted twice taking mortals into the fae lands. Supposedly because of fae lineage or because of prior agreements, but it seems rather circumspect to me now."

Her own dark eyes seem to darken further, showing that someone has wronged her as well. "I think that a certain queen may be harboring fugitives in her lands, though to what purpose I can not imagine."

"Interesting," Faphinae responds, her silver eyes widening in a very clear display of intrigue. Her eyes even glow a bit stronger for a brief moment. "Indeed, something seems to be making her act very unusually. Perhaps it is a fit of insanity... Such things to happen to those in power."

She smiles just a little wider. That's an unsettling expression even more than it was before. "How experienced are you in killing fae, Auranar?"

That question is asked as Cor'ethil and Ansír are looking at a table, with Ansír measuring how sturdy the table portion is compared to its legs. Cor'ethil looks put out as Ansír discovers some rather minor flaw in his eyes. "I can fix it on my own, surely," Corey protests.

"You have never worked wood a day in your life, Cor'ethil Cari'thana, and I doubt that domestic life will suddenly inspire you to master craftsmanship," Ansír fires back rather stiffly.

Auranar smiles back at Faphinae. "The Corpse Eater did not survive me and my sister's attentions." He may have been slain by Mortal Dread, but Auranar had stabbed him in the face with an arrow made of cold iron. A wound that surely would have been hard to recover from if he had endured beyond that day. He had not. "Those threats that come against my family seem to have a way of dying this generation."

Her dark eyes are filled with horrible determination, and that light that had been in them the other night is back. She can't help it. She would do terrible, awful things for those that she cares about, and she has reached the point where it no longer seems such a bad idea.

"The Corpse-Eater? Truly?" There's a similar zeal in Faphinae's eyes to Auranar's, and the woman puts a hand onto Auranar's shoulder. "Then you and I are of a similar mind. We will have to speak again in some more private place, Auranar, but I have an idea. Two ideas, in fact."

She leans in and whispers the last into Auranar's ear. "I would like to teach you all that I know from my years of first-hand experience with a certain queen. In return, I would like you to support my little... _rebellion_. And to potentially recruit your family to my cause, if they are willing." Her words are laced entirely with danger, but there is no doubt that she believes in this cause. "Any ruler who has demonstrated themself to be unfit for rule should not rule anymore, hmm?"

The woman needs say nothing more, Auranar is in. She smiles grimly, latching onto this bit of hope with both hands tightly. "Long live the Queen." She murmurs. Whoever that might be. Because soon? It will not be the Queen of Air and Darkness.

Rebellion sounds right up Auranar's alley.

-End