phoenixstrut | [AU] For the Greater Good

Even with her empathic power.... he's really hard to read...

She blinks at him, then flips the map a little in her hands, cheeks turning pink. He's got a point. "Ah, right... I guess that would be easier, but I'm not sure I should really... bore him with the basics?"

Lame excuse. She's not even sure he would talk to her if she tried at this point.

It is a lame excuse, Dove. "Isn't the point of a partnership such as this to learn about your partner... From your partner...?"

He's a tiny bit amused, but a little exasperated.

... She doesn't really have a response to that.

He's.... not wrong.

Instead, she just nods, ears turning pink as her cheeks as she tries to hold back the embarrassment. "I... thank you, for these. This should help immensely."

Attempting a queen's dismissal? ... perhaps. But also perhaps failing.

He's silent for a moment more. You tried-

"Do not leave the manor with them." You can move about the building with them, but his books don't leave this place.

..... And with that, he turns on his heel and vanishes into the library.

Right...

For now, she just plans to pour over everything she can find on....pretty much any subject she thinks might help her along. However, when the light in the room starts to dim, and the streetlights outside the massive windows down in the city start to come alive, she carefully folds the maps and sets them back where she found them, leaving the books and articles in a tidy pile at the edge of the table. Whether he wishes to put them back in their proper places or no, she'll be back later for more.

With a deep breath, she heads back to her- their - room, and changes, grateful for her things having arrived while she was busy. Donning a simple outfit of solid black- leggings and a slim, fitted hooded tunic- she makes her way out of the manor and into the streets, tugging the hood over her head and refusing a guard around her.

She wants to see the area first hand, and she's the archangel, more than capable of taking care of herself.

...right?

It's not long before she's lost herself in the labyrinth of streets and buildings.

There's enough activity, even this late, that the guard she didn't ask for probably blends in for a while.

But when it becomes pretty clear that she's lost....

Here's a young man who probably should have stood out more, for his choice in traditional japanese clothing, and the hair purposefully combed over the side of his face.

"Y'know... the guard was half guide, right?"

She hates herself for it, but she jumps a little when she's approached and addressed.

"I..." A quick survey of her surroundings before she shakes her head at him. "What?"

"How they were all, hey, someone should go with you, and you were like nah, I'm good?" The man says cheerfully, sure, that might not have been how Dove put it, but its more or less accurate, right?

"A guard from the manor would have been a guide too, you know."

Ah.... right.

"I just... didn't want a real entourage. Makes exploring a little less authentic when people know who you are..."

Because, of course, there's no way all those demons can feel her Light, right?
Of course not.

She eyes him carefully, adjusting her hood. "....remind me of your name again?" She knows she's seen this one...

Of course not! How did she think he found her so fast.

He smiles, bright and cheerful.

"Rokurou Rangetsu." Which isn't the name of one of the demons on Zaveid's council, and possibly the name of the leader of the house of pride. Definitely... not.

She mentally kicks herself for not remembering. "Right... Rokurou." Another headshake. "I'm sorry... still trying to set names straight...." And she has a lot of them to learn.

For now, though, it's the streets she needs to keep straight, and given the increasing number of unruly sounds in the immediate area...

"Where... are we?"

"Hmmmm... South of center, judging by the housing." yes, Dove, these squished together buildings are houses.

Those unruly sounds, he seems to perk a little as he recognizes what they are. Look, he may be of pride, but he's definitely also of war - of violence.

"Ah, there's a dispute being settled."

She was afraid of that...

She's about to ask him what he means by 'dispute' but... The demon woman being cast through a door up ahead draws her full attention instead. Without thinking, she...might be advancing on the scene much more quickly than a new and...frankly delicate queen should be.

It takes Rokurou a moment to follow her with any urgency. The demon woman is followed by two other demons - one who plainly has been fighting her, and one who has some sort of badge on.

None of the demons are particularly happy that Dove has come to 'interfere', in their own words. Rokurou seems to realize this is going south about the same time at least one of the fighting demons realizes this is an angel.

Before that can escalate, the shadows stir near Dove and Zaveid lazily steps out.

"Okay, sure, I can't expect you all to know how she looks, or expect her to be out yet..." The mildly official demon of the three straightens in recognition. "But the news of our wedding did reach you all, right?"

Any rush of heat in her veins goes cold at the sudden sound of his voice right next to her. How?!

She straightens, immediately extinguishing the small flame that had begun to lick at her fingertips, and looks over to him, resisting the urge to step back away from him. No horns this time, and- .....how had anyone allowed him to leave the mansion like that? Had she tried making a public appearance in so much as nice leggings, her counsel would have immediately 'corrected' her.

Never mind that now. She wants to know why this female is suddenly being treated as such, and shifts her golden gaze to the two men following the woman..

"What's going on?"

Surprise, demon magic. And also he's the King and didn't ask anyone's opinion -

The demons all seem to have realized who he is, and while aren't bowing or anything, are much more respectful now.

Zaveid glances over the demons. "Settling a dispute." he indicates the official looking demon, who bows a little.

The pair of demons are fighting over child support, apparently. The man thinks the child doesn't need as much money now that the kid has hit middle teens, but the woman is certain the child can get into a good college in the middle, and wants the payments to remain the same.

And they'd prefer to fight it out.

It's certainly not the most regal display they've probably ever seen, but their new queen might be actually gaping at the very idea of it.

"Are there not laws in place for that sort of thing? Even the humans have that sort of thing regulated," she snaps, shaking her head.

The demons besides Zaveid and Rokurou bristle at that - Rokurou seems to be faintly amused and Zaveid some sort of 'wow you really know nothing.'

"He's here." Zaveid indicates the third demon. "So this is within our laws. Instead of waiting and paying for a court date, either in our own overworked ones or getting into a human one, they agree to some preset rules, and pay him to officiate."

He nods his head at the father. "Whether he wins or loses, he has to pay for the door, for example."

She's can feel his awareness much more thoroughly than she'd like and sighs, mentally swearing to herself as she surveys the scene again and tries to ignore the heat on her face. She... messed up.

"Ridiculous," she mutters to herself, but whether it's at herself, the situation, or the overall situation the separation in their worlds has caused is left to the interpretation of those who happen to hear her.

Mustering up as many scraps of her pride as she can, she looks to the woman on the ground. "Win this one, then."

And with that, she turns on her heel and heads back in the direction she came...

Which... potentially could be deeper into the slums. She's too embarrassed and frustrated to be sure.

Zaveid watches her go, then looks back at the demons and shrugs, turning to talk to them and probably see to it this doesn't cost them.

Rokurou follows catches up to her, arms crossed behind his head. "Are you trying to get further into the slums, or...?"

She tenses at the sound of footsteps behind her, but sags a little in relief when it turns out to be Rokurou and not him.

"I-" Shoot. Wrong way... naturally.

"Any chance you can get me home before I make a bigger fool of myself?" she asks, attempting half a somewhat biting smile, but...also failing a bit.

He laughs a little, although its hard to really tell what about, even with her reading.

"Take the next left." And so Rokurou guides her home, her own words, thank you!

Zaveid doesn't even really say anything about her trip out when he gets back from whatever he spend the rest of the day doing, but the next morning, there's a list of books sitting on the side table. The titles look like law.

She follows him home without a word, her head low and the hood pulled much further down until they're safely inside the manor once more. What a fool... She should have known better than to interact, but seeing their so called 'laws' unfolding before her...

She's sure to be as asleep as possible before Zaveid can return that night, with every hope he won't wake her in some furious demonic kingly rage to tell her off for embarrassing him.

Upon waking and finding the list, she's hesitant.... but calls a maid to her room to fetch her the books, opting to hide inside their suite for the time being and bury her nose in the suggested books... at least the King is restrained enough not to mock her for her mistake. In fact, the list he provided comes in handy, and though it's weary reading, and her light doesn't seem as bright to those few who assist her... she's much better acquainted with the rules in only a few days.

Now if she would only leave the wing... Deep inside her, she hopes rumors haven't already spread and that Zaveid is keeping himself somewhat scarce. It would be odd to see him alone...without her... just days after their wedding, afterall.

Zaveid..... Who knows what Zaveid is up to while she's hiding. He's clearly there at night, if just by how the room changes a little from things like him sleeping in that chair, laundry growing in his basket, towel changing in the bathroom.

Until one day he just comes back after she's sent lunch off, some form of amused and exasperated to see her there. Still, it looks like.

"C'mon, I wanna show you something." There is fresh air in the low-

As the days pass more smoothly than conversation with her new spouse, she only grows more and more anxious and adding to the list of every growing concerns: They're married, and he's demanded nothing of her...? They've barely even spoken and are bound eternally. Obviously he sees her as a complete fool and little worth his time.

Should she be trying harder?

She's almost made up her mind to spend the next hour trying to think of a way to appease him and at least try to make things less awkward when-- oop. There he is.

She closes the book in her lap and looks up at him, almost as if waiting for him to lash out, but....

"Oh... um...alright..."

Once the book is set aside, she stands and heads over to him.

Edited 2019-09-09 19:39 (UTC)

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