Thread: Oaths Twice Writ, Thrice Sworn (Umbrale & Erit)

He raised his free hand in a gesture of capitulation maybe halfway through her long-winded rave of a joking rebuttal, chuckling quietly as she fell into her giggle fit with an amused I concede to your loquacious retort with what might be left of my pride. He only noticed they'd still been holding hands when she emphatically separated them and waved him away. Some part of him sulked a little at that, having enjoyed the small little gesture for what it was, but the rest of him was more preoccupied with amusement at her insistence he depart for her privacy. And not a shred was left over to resist a poorly-fated attempt at teasing Oh? He said with a knowing little smile as he gave ground with deliberate and stubborn slowness, Has my Lady finally come to appreciate a sense of modesty? And to think, you used to hate wearing clothes so much when you were little that Evie had to start carrying around a switch. A bow of acquiescence followed as her wings buffeted him playfully. But, as you will, my Lady Memoiri. This Cadence shall leave you in privacy to arrange for our date. And probably something to eat for himself, while he was at it, if Alis didn't pull some sort of trick to be ready faster than that. One could never be certain with her, in his experience. The door shut behind him with a soft little click, the trolley at his side. Most of the Cadence staff was still absent their usual posts, and likely would be through the evening as was tradition of sorts when prominent members of the House came into their Inheritance, the night of revelry and celebration that followed almost inevitably was an event to remember. Or, in the case of the older attendees, one to largely forget in a drunken haze. Chase being who he was in the family, he had little doubt that most of his relatives able to legally imbibe hard liquor would be getting utterly smashed as part of the proceedings a mercy of being an extended family of mages, and of the era, was that hangovers were very easily cured in time for work the next day. His first stop was, of course, the kitchen, which as it happened was still staffed thinly, with mostly younger children not yet pubescent under the supervision of Chase's great-aunt Rin, but staffed all the same. Rin was a mage who had married into the Cadence line rather than being born to it, and it showed with the raven ponytail that swished and swashed around her waist and the dark blue eyes that peered from a face very clearly from the East, but she was a Cadence all the same, and was quite capable at that. After depositing the dishes for cleaning, she was very efficient in sending two of the little ones scurrying off to inform the staff manning the garage to arrange for a ride to be determined on arrival. A trip on one of the older, decommissioned Cuirassers through the hills sounded like a good date find someplace out of the way to put his magic through its paces, where even if something did go wrong the odds of collateral damage were minimized. Lucian's lips screwed together in a tight frown, arms folding in consternation with Brivear's question. We're in agreement. He answered simply, reflexively reaching for the inside pocket of his coat for cigarettes that weren't there anymore. Really, what had he been thinking when he decided to quit? If she was allowed in she would have to be assigned to a Chalice Ops team she's too conspicuous and too powerful for a mundane RCKS. And you and I both know it's too risky for any Memoiri to get that close to a false Sangralle. Hell, it's dangerous for a Cadence to get close, and we're dragon-blooded. His own fatherMorgan Faerath Cadence, who traversed the Far Side of the Moonhad ultimately died because of his continual exposure to that tainted magic. The only reason he hadn't been driven plain mad was because of his Inheritance. Lucian would get by on the protections afforded to his mother's bloodline, but Chase... Well, before he couldn't be certain now that it was clear something was up with his son's connection to the Will, things were even less clear. So even if you did approve of her entry, I'd still bar it. I'll formally assign Chase to her detail tomorrow, though. Alisia's too clever for us to pull the wool over her eyes, so we'll both make it obvious that we're watching her, and that we won't keep her on a leash. My son, on the other hand, can keep her out of any real trouble. His presence in her life had managed that much, at least kept the princess' antics down to mere mischief rather than any real disasters like what Faust used to tell stories about. Lucian could praise his progeny for a lot of things, but the one that he was most proud of was that Chase seemed to be a good influence on the girl. Of course, I'll shuffle some decks to get a light-duty squad on observation for her, as well, in case Vox Illumina decides to try for round... what would it be, seven? Eight? The mage chuckled, his expression lightening at his own jape, I'm starting to think they just like the taste of gravel. Plenty of groups with eyes bigger than their bellies tried to pull tricks on the Memoiri attempts at kidnappings, extortion and good old larceny weren't completely unheard of, even if none of them succeeded. That particular group, though, was unique for trying more than once, like some kind of plucky underdog antagonist. The only reason he even considered them a credible threat was because it was his job as a Cadence to overestimate any danger to his employers.