Bardic Knowledge

"Ah, Ah. Speak for yourself. Domesticated fae such as yourself may have broken the tradition of being wild animals, but for those of us who still live in the wilds we are still animals." He gave her a slight grin. Marry out of love? What was this some kind of human literature turned to reality? "And tell me, young queen, what does love have to do with mating? You do not need to love someone to have sex with them. That's a human idea. Animals are not monogamous in nature, and neither are the fae. Sure, there are some of us who stay with one mate every season, but they are few are far between." Souji tapped his fingers on the sheets. "Also, titles and royal lines mean nothing to most of us. We could care less about trivial situations such as being a queen for example, I am sure there are times when you are going to wish you were one of the wild ones." "Besides.." Souji rolled onto his back and tapped his fingers on his chest. "Arranged marriages sound horrendous. Who would buy before sampling the goods." @Eternity

“Oh, you know, a little of this, a little of that my young vampire keepling.” He tried to manage a smile for her, but the embers of anger continued to crackle deep inside him. Each passing buzz of the annoying political talk that flew. Those wings fanned his flames. Until there was fire… There was a shimmer, then a booming echo that erupted from him as if he were something from another world, edgeless, wild. “Silence!” It was loud enough to be heard over the crowd. The murderer has lost his temper. His voice radiated with ancient power any lesser creature would have been stunned in shock almost as if they were hit with a taser. The fae pointed a finger at the elf leaving the room with the help of knight. An unwanted guest. “Need I remind you elfling, we fae need not permission from the mortals to do as we wish. You do not need to recognize the rule of a fae, as you are a lesser and will always be lesser. Any aggression on this kingdom and I will bare the teeth of the whole fae court down upon your throat.” His eyes shifted ever so slightly his inner fire blazing. “Count yourself lucky you are leaving with head intact elfling. Especially after the insults, you spew about acting as if your mutt blood is better than that of a lowly human.” With that, his attention was drawn back to Persephone as if his whole outburst had happened a week ago. He looked at her with a smile and offered his arm politely. “Come, let us find a place to talk. I will tell you in greater detail the events in which I have partaken. And perhaps we shall share a meal.” He giggled absentmindedly pulling a small bird from his pocket with the hand not offered to Persephone. He tweeted at it, as if he himself were a bird, and sent it off. Just as a precaution. The fae also passed a glance to the new queen. She had her work cut out for her, but perhaps in her time of need, something interesting might happen. @Abigail666 @Eternity @Grubbistch

Souji was confused by her actions. But let her have her way allowing her to manipulate his hand to get a better look without resistance, however, the magic only lasted for a few moments. There was a silence after her fit of laughter followed by a low rolling question. "And why not? Is it not the job of species to find a strong mate and copulate to create offspring? Is this come kind of trick?" The far edged closer to her leaving his positioning on the baseboard and slowly making his way closer by shifting his feet cautiously as if he were trying to catch an insect. "I mean do all species not have mating seasons?" He was genuinely confused. He knew that humans had spesific criteria he labeled as useless, feelings. But for creatures closer to animals he felt that the natural should take over. "Are you saying I am not genetically superior to other mates in this area?" His eyebrow rose I'm question. "Do I need to go kill other males?" Perhaps that was it. He sat before her and tilted his head. "Explain." @Eternity

Souji noticed the presence of Persephone as soon as she entered, he could feel the length of their bond shortening and it had been quite the while since he had last laid eyes upon her. A feeling came, but was dismissed as nothing. Longing perhaps? No. Perhaps he just missed her presence. The thickness of their bond was on him like a comfortable blanket and he turned to greet her with a smile painted on his face as if he were a doll. It was there but meant nothing. Just as he was about to make in her direction his attention happened to be called elsewhere. Elves, lesser beings proclaiming that they had some right to recognize the rule of a fae? We’re they insane? It proceed his anger which smoldered like embers close to ignition. It seemed that today was anger the Souji day, perhaps it would be a day stained red by the blood of those who fanned those embers crackling lowly inside him. The fae took moved to Persephone's side and allowed a comfort to set in. “Hello my young vampire. It has been a while yes?” His voice was low, but edgeless and wild. “How have you been since last we spoke? Have you eaten well?” He wanted to ask her many questions but stopped at just the two, as he did not wish to recount the idiocy that was the past few months of his own life, and was comfortable allowing them to slip away as of they hadn’t happened at all. Perhaps it was better that way. “I must warn you to be on your guard. It seems most of these people have a great distaste for me. Perhaps it is because they are jealous of my boyish good looks.” He smiled, this time a real one, a sheepish grin that showed his small front fangs. What sort of mischief would they find themselves in this evening. @Abigail666

Souji tilted his head slightly. Maybe he was doing it wrong. He thought about it for a moment while she spoke, careful to split his attention enough to keep an eye on her. That was until she had told him she had never left her home. His brows came together, and he popped up from the be and crouched on the baseboard like a cat. “What does it look like you say.” He wondered how he would describe it, but instead, the only thing that could come to mind was asking if she wanted to see it. “I can show it to you.” His voice fell flat. At the base of an upturned hand, a magical model of sorts began to form. Droplets of silver magic constructed his ‘’lair’’ in very precise detail. It looked whimsical due to being formed of magic, however, it was indeed an exact replica. “It looks like this.” His head tilted slightly offering his hand closer to her so that she could get a look. “I suppose it’s a normal forest, I don’t think this does it justice, I can take you there now if you wish.” He paused for the slightest moment not waiting for her to answer he came back with something else entirely. “What do you mean I am not initiating mating right. Perhaps you should show me how it is done for future references.” His face turned from blank to a slow wild smile as if he were waiting to pull the come back out of his hat, just never at the right time. Always at the wrong times. Those were the best times.

There was not but a peep, quiet as a mouse. Souji looked unusually wild today. He wore no shirt, exposing the glowing silver magical veins dancing across his pale flesh. The spun around his arms like ivy against the bark of a tree and left a spattering of jagged lines and spiral flowers across his chest and back. His long green hair was tied back so it remained out of his face petals of soft purple flowers dotted the thick green hair and highlighted his full glowing purple eyes. For an occasion such as this, his wings were also present, larger than his body translucent galaxies spread uneasily from the center of his back. While they were not physical in nature, if one were to pass through it, they would feel the warm ease of the natural magic that coursed through them. Faeweave fabric wrapped his hips, stopping just above the knees, something a warrior might wear. His feet were bare, as the usual, but there were two silver anklets around each ankle that shimmered slightly in the light. He took in the noise of the room, ignoring the obvious he and she complains about him. Of course, there were complaints about him he was practically on the border of sanity. Lazily he yawned, not particularly interested in anyone in the room at the given moment. They were just bees feeding off the nectar given to them by someone else, but these bees were nothing but political hacks, and suck-ups. First one to make good with the new queen, whom he had already met, will get fifty points and a chance for diplomatic ties. The thought put a sour taste in his mouth. No one was really here to celebrate anything, perhaps, except for him. Because he was always celebrating something. There was an announcement, which caught his attention. The same woman he met prior, this time dressed to the teeth stood between guards. She was staring off at the throne, he could tell by the way her eyes locked to it. Should he clap? That would be… so… pedestrian. Titles, titles, that’s just what they were. They meant nothing to him and normally meant nothing to his kind, however, the young fae queen took all his attention. Just what would she do, and what could he do to mess it up, as he always did. He did come bearing gifts, as he was taught that was the polite thing to do. After a long moment, the fae turned his head, looked to see familiar faces in the group. Bag of bones, Grant… Some… elf… thing? He shook his head again. Annoyances. He thought it funny. First to the queen, first to the favor. Diplomatic ties, this and that. Bow, yes mi’lord, bow no mi’lord. All hail whoever from whatever. Burn, it’s annoying. He annoyance broke when he found it time for his gift. He swept a hand, and small insects began to pour out en masse. The army of bugs found themselves lined up like some sort of army forming a runway of sorts. He snapped his fingers, and the insets began to shimmer brightly of silver, low to the ground it made the path to the throne look as if it were some fairy tale. He thought it gave it a nice shimmer. The bugs weren’t dangerous, they were just a breed of Firefly from the wilds.

Souji tilted his head and continued to watch her action carefully. Especially the way she moved. He wouldn’t say it was with grace, perhaps she was tired. The question that remained, How dangerous was his situation? Internally he shrugged putting the danger in the back of his mind to an off place where he could summon the feeling back if he needed to. She wore an interesting garb and he wondered to himself what it might look like wet, which was another thing altogether. He tilted his head back to its normal position, watching her adjust herself in the bed before beckoning him to come over by patting the mattress. Was it a trap? There was no way she would get the better of him with magic, not many could but if she did he might just let her see where it went. He was a curious creature after all. With little hesitation the fae decided to make himself comfortable in the place she offered to him, but he took no blanket. Those were the things of humans and he would not have it. “There is a line.” The fae paused. “Between daring and foolish, you just happened to pick the better of the two options.” A giggle between sentences. “No, I am not from here. A keen eye you have, I was lead here by some flower keeper who wondered into my wilds. She decided to part ways, and I decided to come here, to this room to sleep. Not out of tiredness, as I am not tired at all but simply out of boredom. It seems the young flower maiden that brought me here was not to keen on a mating ritual.” Another giggle, the obvious last part of his story a joke. “While I was not born there, I hail from a small forest outside of Hyperion. That is where my court calls home.” What would be the point in telling a fib to her, it wasn’t as if she would immediately declare war and send the armies out to pillage and burn just for him slipping into her chamber. He adjusted himself to a playful half lay, he would just have to see what she had in store for him. Good things, or bad.

Commotion, commotion, noise. The ruining of plans, the shattering of glass all of it annoyed him to no end, especially the portion in which he was commanded to kill people. This was not a time for killing, this was a time for the gathering of information on a massive scale and in order to do so, one had to blend in with the local life. Four or five on army was not his style of doing things. He stood from the bed and eyed the panic button on the wall, the alarm switch. One flick and the sack of bones that stood before him would more than likely be overrun by guards and murdered. He had hoped she followed his eyes to the switch. Speaking as if she knew him huh? Speaking as if she knew what action he would take next. Perhaps he would just kill everything and brutally sodomize her with a mop to teach her a lesson but instead, his arm reached out casually for the alarm switch but stopped. “Who exactly are you?” He smiled, devilishly eyes on the alarm switch which would surely send the entire building they were in into a lockdown, and a guard frenzy. Luckily enough, Souji had enough glass injury from her abrupt jump to make some sort of tale of it. Perhaps the rebels followed him and tried to kill him before he could pass information. Perhaps not. She was not quite good looking enough to give him orders. Souji giggled manically. His plan probably ruined he may have no choice but to kill everything in the room. His hand flicked up wrist lose he flung shards of glass like shrunken with deadly accuracy, one, two, whatever was there was struck fatally. But that was the least annoying part. His anger took the better of him, and instead of continuing onto the guards, he would near instantly go to put the lich into a choke hold. He was fast and very strong and if, or once he latched ahold of her he would apply pressure and begin to twist with every wild ounce of strength. How dare she ruin his plan, and for that she may well die. He could easily blame the guard's death on her. Use her corpse as bargaining material and get back into his plan, but his fury overrode him, and his eyes that were once white and purple became that of a solid color and his teeth elongated into fangs used to rend flesh, he became feral like an animal backed into a corner.

Souji awoke in medical care from his self-inflicted injuries. The first thing he noticed was that he was put under guard. It was time to talk, and a talk was something that fae were good at. He rose his hand from the bed, and sat up summoning the guard over to inform him that he was ready to explain the situation to his superior. There was no way he was going to relay information through a go-between. He waited, patiently as the commander to whom he was going to explain probably had many things to do and Souji was going nowhere for the time being. When the commander arrived Souji began to enter story mode. He explained why his eyes looked different, that he was a child of magic, a fae. He also explained that he had come to study the effects of magitech on the natural flow of magic and environment and that he intended to write an academic paper on it for his people. He also explained that he was instructed to go to the city, register himself and obtain an anti-magical collar. After the explanation, he came to how he got here. Thrown overboard. Was his excuse. He explained the boat that he rode in on crashed into something, and the jar threw him overboard and when he came to he was in the woods. Lies lies upon lies is what he told. But he always kept his story straight and gave great detail. When it got to the questions about rebels, Souji replied that he saw broken branches, and thought perhaps a pathway to the city was nearby. That part was not a lie. He knew that the broken pathway was where rebel scouts more than likely trekked, and if a patrol was sent in that area they would more than likely come across scouts if they looked hard enough. After all the explaining and lies, Souji mentioned that he was tired, and asked the commander when he could go to the city center to register so that he could begin his study.

“Who is here indeed.” The fae parroted her with a twisted smile on his face, eyes taking in what the blankets once covered. She was not bad looking for a fae, though, the overuse of human clothing made him turn his nose slightly. What kind of fae slept with clothes on? Perhaps the domesticated kind. Souji adjusted and fell back on the bed, adjusting his arms to fold, interlocking his fingers behind his head. The bed was soft. “My name is Archfae Souji, a pleasure to meet you bed thief. I decided that when I was to come here, I would sleep in the master chamber. However, it seems occupied. And of course, I brought a touch of home with me to spruce up this dark hold you call a room. What kind of show is being run here anyways.” A playful yawn. Gave way to a real one, as Souji was becoming lethargic as his mood settled to a cold ice. As it normally was. He did not close his eyes though, instead, he kept the glowing purple orbs locked to the woman in the bed. Would she call the guard? Not if she wanted them to keep their lives, it had been a while now since he tried his combat prowess, but, then again he came in peace. Mostly.

Shortly

Souji’s ears twitched with the peak of the disturbance in the dark room. Something stirred in the bed. The room was not vacant. He let out a soundless sigh and waited for the sounds of movements to slow or stop. It seemed like a long wait, but only because he detested sitting still for any amount of time. The fae finally stood, his eyes adjusted for the darkness. There was no king to be found under the fabrics of the bed only, as it appeared to him, a delicate and feminine form topped with flowing fire that spilled out over her headrest. Souji’s curiosity peaked and he leaned in to get a better look at the sleeping face. There was a moment of sudden clarity to him, that this individual may be the newest leader, he had recalled the words from the one that brought him here. The trickster spring into action. There was a whisper, and his hand placed flatly on the floor. Soft magical grass grew quickly from where it shouldn’t. Vines appeared from nothing on the sides, and flowers of blue and silver opened between pointed blade-like leaves. The vines claimed the roof and the walls inside the room. Assuredly, nothing would leave any lasting damage. It was all an enchantment, trickery. The fae had silently created a magic garden in the interior of the room, complete with crickets and small yellow glowing bugs that gave the smallest flash as they hovered close to the grass laden floors he had created. His mind giggled. When he was finished with his magical shenanigans, he crawled slowly onto the edge of the bed, and sat cross-legged, watching over the woman who tossed and turned in ways that seemed tireless. Perhaps she should have changed his title to Souji, the bed creeper, but he was enjoying himself, so hilariously he poked her sleeping woman’s cheek. Then again slightly harder. “Your sleeping in my bed.” He broke the silence, this time giggling aloud.

Souji watched her body language. Was it not natural for old people to die? The whole point of mortal life in society was getting older, followed by paying taxes, followed by dying, followed by paying more taxes. It was probably a good thing the man went out a king, as kings didn’t have to pay taxes like everyone else. There was a slight head tilt in his line of thought and his eyes followed the woman’s expressions taking them in as if he were sightseeing. It seemed though, she was not interested in his form of playful expression and it seemed by her reluctance and gesture of goodwill to his endeavor, that she would not join him in his ‘’bedroom heist’’. The fae gave her a half bow. “Thank you for bringing me here Miss Bellflower, and I hope to see you again very soon.” With that, he stood upright and began his march to the castle. His eyes did their thing, observing the outside of the structure the patrols and postings of guards, their arms. Every small detail. Since the fae had an enhanced field of view he could take in many details at once. His head making mental notes of how long patrolling guards took to move from one point to the next. Though, he did not linger in one position to long as it was rouse suspicion about him. He wanted to blend with the dealings of the people, though he saw very few of them on his path. He did notice that the primary mode of transportation for the people seemed to be horseback, which interested him. He never tried to ride another animal. Poor horses. Eventually, the fae would find a spot between two large buildings that he felt were close enough to the castle, and he took his time scaling the sides in the shadow cast between the two buildings. Once atop the building, he noted the highest point of the castle with a window. Guards seldom looked up and as safe as this place seemed, it was not like it was in any danger, so, there wouldn’t be a problem with him coasting right over to the window. The problem, however, was being spotted by someone looking out a window. This wouldn’t work. His second plan involved him getting closer to the castle. This seemed like a better idea as all he would need to do was scale a few things and avoid being spotted. The fae was light on his feet, quick, and made his way all the way through to an open servant’s entrance where he would pop in, stay low, and use the furnishings as cover like he were some covert op. It looked easier than it was. Through the castle, he went trying to take in sights and avoid people while looking for a master bedroom. So many doors, it was so large. Maybe it was like finding a needle in a haystack. He was about to give up searching before he noticed one of the rooms was adorned differently than the rest. That was where he needed to go. But perhaps not through the front door. Instead, he took the window from a closed room and using his memory of the layout inside made his way to the window of the room he had in mind to stay the night. There was nary a sound as he used magic to undo any locks. Slowly he opened the window and… Trip, roll, crash. It wasn’t loud to people outside the room but the fae had slipped on something, rolled across the floor and bumped back first into the frame of the bed. His face made a wince, not one of pain, but one of “oh shit I made a noise.”

When she mentioned the temperature, Souji did notice it was about ten degrees hotter here than his home. It was comfortable, for now, but he suspected when physical activity was involved he would be far too hot especially given the length of his new hair. “A new queen you say? What happened to the old one?” He was curious, usually royalty was left in the family, though he did not want to speculate further on the stately affairs of a foreign body he knew nothing about. When she spoke of where the water came from he couldn’t help but take two more sips from a cupped hand that pulled water out. It was clean and refreshing. Very unlike his magically created pool in the Wood. Finally, he turned his head and lowered the hood to his cloak looking back at the still moss covered nymph. She was listing off places that he could stay. He grinned wildly. “I appreciate all of the kind locations you have listed for me to stay, but, I am afraid if I stay with you the temperature of where you stay might reach a point where we are both sweating heavily. I am afraid your neighbors might not take to kindly to the heat and noises.” Souji gave her a playful wink, then pointed to the castle. “I think I shall stay there for the night. I don’t think anyone would particularly mind me slipping in through the back door and sleeping in the royal bedroom. Besides, according to you there is no queen at this time. So, no harm no foul, right?”

Using the magic Souji collected as they walked he fashioned a cloak of dark silver and white, matching that of the fog that protected his home. Upon a closer inspection of the cloak, it looked to be alive like Souji was wearing the fog itself, but if one gazed upon it at a glance it would appear to be a normal cloak. The hood was drawn over his head, so that only his chin and eye were visible. He wore no shirt under, as the cloak was cut in such a way that it doubled as a shirt. He was half listening to her when she explained what she took care of, and his response was a simple explanation to her job. “So, a mother it is.” The fae laid eyes on the portal she made. He could care less if it was one way, it was not as if she were summoning a portal to lead him to his death. Without a second thought he passed right by her through the door she had made. He wondered if she would follow as his location seemed to suddenly change. His feet met new terrain, and his eyes fell upon an entre new city. The buildings looked as if they were made of the most pure components, the grass, even the magic felt different. Souji took a breath, one of awe. It reminded him of some of the larger cities and council rooms inside they Fay Wild. As far as his eyes could see the location was surrounded by natural beauty and artisan craftsman all coming together to create this gem. If he could have bottled it and sold it, he would have. He looked to the left, then the right, before walking to the natural lake before him. He dropped to his knees and placed his fingertips inside the water to test its purity before taking a small drink from it. After a low sigh his head rose to look at the castle before him. “What am I to do now.”