Prepare for the #LodanRespawn2024 Existing characters may choose to be displace from/have memories of different timelines, thereby allowing returning members the option to retcon their whole character. These changes are the result of the "Unnatural Fog" plot device that is running between now and the Respawn. The plot is simple: no matter where your character is, that place is shrouded in a thick fog that suspends time, but not thoughts or memories, so even if they're repeating the same day over and over again, they continue to remember, so each time feels like a new day. For those retconning OCs; this is where new versions of themselves have the opportunity to replace the old versions. Official lore and tree updates will be announced asap
Post by Caitlin Cockfoster on Sept 19, 2014 3:28:30 GMT
"Busted," she laughed. "Yes, the blue-haired maid was no maid at all but a friend of mine. She was filling in to help keep the eagle eye off of me for a while. Seems he caught on to the fact it wasn't working and dismissed her from the imaginary employment he thought she had." Caity shrugged. "So she went back to being herself, and of course you may have heard, her grandfather discovered her and next thing you know she's a long lost noble welcomed into the fold." She smiled at him, "some people get their happy endings after all."
She sat her glass down next to the decanter and leaned back. This was nice... like falling into a vat of marshmallow fluff. Calm, muffled, the rest of the world blocked out by the closed door to his cabin, and here they were safe inside. Safe from reality, safe from their own complicated lives. Safe from duty. Safe from context. Just. Safe. --Caitlin
"You have some interesting friends, Lady Cockfoster," he said, over-accenting her title and name as a potential sutor might. He added a wink for good measure. "I imagine there is much more to you than even I know. I very much look forward to finding that out, if you decide to trust me enough. There's not much more to me than what you see. A man in a uniform, sworn to protect the nation. I suppose that's why I understand what it's like having a life changing decision forced upon you. What some would think if they knew the reason I joined the EIRAL was to get out of serving jail time." A bit of truth about himself couldn't hurt, besides, if he really was in this 'game' he might as well put some of his cards on the table.
Post by Caitlin Cockfoster on Sept 19, 2014 5:46:59 GMT
It was a little alarming how many of her genuine friends this man knew of. He'd come incredibly close to her true self quite a few times. He knew of Ikuze, clearly. He knew of Danny and Levi. Levi... Queen's she didn't even want to think about him now. A frustration stirred in her heart and it made her restless and angry with herself. Thank goodness the commander provided her with an adequate distraction. That last bit came as the most unexpected news. He, the upstanding Galahad of Lodan was once looking at a jail sentence. She quirked her head sideways at him and a smile played on the corners of her lips. "I'm very curious, how did you of all people end up on the wrong side of the law?"
She sat her glass down next to the decanter and leaned back. This was nice... like falling into a vat of marshmallow fluff. Calm, muffled, the rest of the world blocked out by the closed door to his cabin, and here they were safe inside. Safe from reality, safe from their own complicated lives. Safe from duty. Safe from context. Just. Safe. --Caitlin
"Well," he smiled again, recalling the exploits of his youth. It was strange, no one really thought of him as a man who smiled at all, but given the right person, and he couldn't stop. The sterness and hard edge faded away, to be replaced by something else. "My parents thought to enroll me in the military academy. I thought differently. Of course, once you sign up. I left the base at night, stole a steam buggy, and tried to make it as far as the docks. I was ready to sign on with the first ship that would have me, and disappear. As fate would have it, I got stopped on my way into town. Once they figured out who I was, I got shipped back to the base and given the option. Be charged with going AWOL and for the theft of the buggy, or finish the training. You can guess which one I took. I always thought I'd make another escape attempt, once I graduated, but then the war happened." There was, of course, more in between then and now. His wife and child, for instance, but that information was for another level of trust. No one particularly needed to know the details about that.
Post by Caitlin Cockfoster on Sept 19, 2014 6:32:00 GMT
The idea of this man making a mad dash for the docks in a stolen buggy had her in a fit of giggles. She tried not to laugh at the image but she couldn't help herself. "No!... you didn't?" but those were rhetorical questions, showing how astonished she was by it all. She wondered what he had looked like then. She imagined the smile he wore now, and a lot less body mass, since the military was probably responsible for at least some of his tonality. He might have been a scrawny young man, but the war hadn't been that long ago, nor lasted that long. He must have performed masterfully during it to have elevated to his current post so quickly.
"I admire you," She said, her laughter wearing away but her smile remaining. "I think your commitment and the way you shoulder all that responsibility takes immeasurable dedication and strength. Although it may not seem like the trials or tribulations of a lady like myself could possibly measure up, I appreciate that you even bothered to look for the similarities in our two cases." Oh but she did know, she knew the weight of a guild resting on her authority, their fates often hanging in her hands, like the time she took two airships to raid the Ca'allan' coast and started a gang war with the green stag beetles. Her men were put at incredible risk on her orders. She thought it must be somewhat like that, only worse for him, because he had to face the world with his decisions and own them. She got to hide behind a legend, and no one knew her for what she had done. She was just a spoiled little rich girl who didn't appreciate her station in life enough to stop giving her father grief over the slight inconvenience of a political marriage.
She sat her glass down next to the decanter and leaned back. This was nice... like falling into a vat of marshmallow fluff. Calm, muffled, the rest of the world blocked out by the closed door to his cabin, and here they were safe inside. Safe from reality, safe from their own complicated lives. Safe from duty. Safe from context. Just. Safe. --Caitlin
He smiled even more at her words of encouragement, even while downplaying her own responsibilities. This was a moment of truth and discovery, they were actually moving past their supposed roles; the hero and the damsal in distress. They were more than their roles, and she was more than a Baroness, or he never would have fallen for her to begin with. The moment was perfect, and with the rising sun just behind them, and the sea glimmering in the distance, he stopped, turned, and kissed her.
Post by Caitlin Cockfoster on Sept 19, 2014 7:13:37 GMT
How many times was he going to surprise her today? Their pleasant banter evaporated into smoke when he turned to face her and scooped her up into his arms for a kiss. The first thing that hit her was how small she was compared to how big he was. Will had been tall, but he had not been this firm. Faolan was a pillar of strength and his embrace brought her urgently to her toes to meet his lips, even as he bowed his head down to meet hers. Reflexively her hands pressed against his chest like a thin barrier between their two bodies when the sudden proximity closed in. She was stunned, too stunned to push away. There was something overpowering about how he kissed her, like there was a fiery passion smoldering beneath the lid of his exterior calm. She had been kissed since Will, even since Faolan's just-in-case pre-death kiss. She had fallen in love with a feline who enjoyed teasing her with kisses but those were all playful, flirtatious, and bittersweet. What Skye had just done to her was something completely new. When he stopped she stood frozen in place.
"....I, um, didn't know you felt that way," she tried to translate thought into words.
She sat her glass down next to the decanter and leaned back. This was nice... like falling into a vat of marshmallow fluff. Calm, muffled, the rest of the world blocked out by the closed door to his cabin, and here they were safe inside. Safe from reality, safe from their own complicated lives. Safe from duty. Safe from context. Just. Safe. --Caitlin
He shrugged at her words, strange as they were, and once again he wasn't quite sure where he stood with her. She was certainly an enigma at times. "Well," he said jokingly, "I guess in the future I need to be more direct." he shook his head and shifted to a more genuine tone, "Come on, I've known there was something about you since I met you in that bar, special enough for me to cover your escape instead of arresting you. Then we just seemed to keep running into each other, even when those situations seemed to go horribly awry. I'm done making mistakes and watching you walk away with the other guy. So there you go, more cards on the table." So much for an uneventful stroll to a fencing lesson. This day was going anything but planned, but for the first time it felt like he was actually taking control of something important to him, not simply going through the motions of command. He loved his troops, and he loved his job, but his heart had never been wholy invested. Still, he'd taken the oath, and short of the EIRAL labeling him traitor, he was bound by his word.
Post by Caitlin Cockfoster on Sept 20, 2014 3:35:05 GMT
She was special alright, but she wasn't about to tell him how. She tipped her head sideways a bit and listened, nodding along as he recounted briefly their encounters since the first. She beamed a smile when he spoke of covering her escape rather than arresting her. Caitlin could just imagine the gossip if the baroness had gotten arrested that day. Then he delivered a line full of heavy meaning. "I'm done making mistakes and watching you walk away with the other guy. So there you go," it was like he dropped a heavy stone in her stomach and it was sinking to the pit, weighing her down with something unusual. She remembered standing at the rails of one of their sky ships at the tower earlier this week, Levi standing next to her, and thinking about how it felt resisting a relationship because he don't want her the way she needed to be wanted. This man wanted her... with a seriousness that no one else had dared.
"I'm sorry about the festival of hearts," she said meekly, her eyes watering a little as she stared up at him. Heavens, how blind was she really? "I had no idea," she shook her head, trying to explain. "I didn't know you, I didn't think..." flashes kept rushing back to her, all the awkward tension, her anger crowding out his cordiality. So many times he had tried to get close, the Jubilee and their walk back from the glider crash in the woods... the kiss at Danny's place, then the stiff apology when he realized something existed between her and Levi. The stone was getting heavier in her gut, but it was almost a comfortable weight, like an anchor in the midst of stormy seas.
She sat her glass down next to the decanter and leaned back. This was nice... like falling into a vat of marshmallow fluff. Calm, muffled, the rest of the world blocked out by the closed door to his cabin, and here they were safe inside. Safe from reality, safe from their own complicated lives. Safe from duty. Safe from context. Just. Safe. --Caitlin
"Hey," he said, brushing the tears from her eyes, "you are wortht he wait, and I do enjoy a good chase." he was still smiling even if his nerves were on edge. Every sense in his body was on fire and he fought off the tension that was building. What would he do if she turned and ran now, what would he do if she decided he really wasn't worth all this fuss. Best not to think about that. When faced with an enemy you couldn't show weakness, but then she wasn't the enemy.
He finally had to chuckle to release the built up anxiety, "we're both adults, yet I feel like a child back in school again attempting to ask my crush to the academy dance." he sighed and let his hand brush her cheek, "look, I'm not saying we should go run off and get married, even though your father seems to want that to happen as fast as possible. I'm not even sure what I'm saying...we can be whatever you want us to be, I'm just happy as long as I'm with you." he shrugged in an almost bashful way.
Post by Caitlin Cockfoster on Sept 20, 2014 4:27:19 GMT
Caitlin closed her eyes as he brushed his fingers across them to try and dissuade her build up of unshed tears. She opened them slowly again and listened to his bashful replies. What was wrong with her these days? She was so weak in the knees, so quick to succumb to tears, and over little to nothing at all. A man showed interest in her and she just caved like shattered pottery. But that was the answer, wasn't it? Heart heart was cracked, pieces of it broken by her own emission. She let herself fall for someone she knew from the beginning wasn't good for her. He tried to talk her out of it so many times with his own threats to abandon her the moment she let him win. Levi was trying to keep her at arms length as much as she was trying to keep him the same distance away. That was splintering her emotionally, all the things they couldn't have and here came Faolan, the perfect gentleman, no - better than a gentlemen, he was the gallant warrior with morals and manners, everything Cait could ever hope for in a match... someone who thought the way she did, and that was why her knees were buckling.
Then she remembered what species he was, and which she was, and what side of the uniform he stood on. Caitlin sighed and took a step back. "I'm sorry, I'm not ready to start anything right now... I need time," she told him slowly, sorting her thoughts. He was perfect, and it was mindblowing except for one thing. He was EIRAL. She fully expected to marry a human since Daddy would have a huge influence in who met her at the end of the aisle. She hadn't even allowed herself to think about Levi on the other end of that chapel runner other than in her sleep. It was difficult to even imagine asking her father to consider it. A feline Ander for a baron, he wouldn't consider it, she was pretty positive of that. But would he consider the commander of the EIRALs either? Which one would he oppose more?
Or would she have no say in the matter, and he'd chose some sneaky bastard from the gentry? Her emotions played like a color wheel across her face, and it was obvious she was feeling conflicted.
She sat her glass down next to the decanter and leaned back. This was nice... like falling into a vat of marshmallow fluff. Calm, muffled, the rest of the world blocked out by the closed door to his cabin, and here they were safe inside. Safe from reality, safe from their own complicated lives. Safe from duty. Safe from context. Just. Safe. --Caitlin
He couldn't even begin to fathom what the issue was. Was she one of those woman who was only into the bad boys, like Levi? He couldn't think of any other reason she'd be hanging around with someone like that, or could he. A persons memory was a funny thing. He supposed it didn't really matter. "Well, I suppose at least your not the most unkissable girl in Lodan any longer." he grinned, choosing brevity over depression, and remembering he line from the other night. She hadn't said no, just that she wasn't ready yet.
"Shall we let the courting continue?" he wiped another tear away before offering his hand. "There's still the matter of our appointment, and your surprise."
Post by Caitlin Cockfoster on Sept 20, 2014 5:35:37 GMT
She let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob when he repeated her line from the night before. While she could hardly remember the kiss that evening, she'd need amnesia to forget the one he'd given her today. The way he gathered her to him and kissed her was all consuming, and felt good, really good, like in the fairy tales she and the other noble daughters used to tell at their pre-teen equestrian camp for horseback riding. His hand touched her cheek again and she smiled wanly.
"Shall we let the courting continue? There's still the matter of our appointment, and your surprise." Oh right, the surprise! She gave a slight chuckle.
"You mean this wasn't the surprise?" She motioned between their two bodies with her hand.
She sat her glass down next to the decanter and leaned back. This was nice... like falling into a vat of marshmallow fluff. Calm, muffled, the rest of the world blocked out by the closed door to his cabin, and here they were safe inside. Safe from reality, safe from their own complicated lives. Safe from duty. Safe from context. Just. Safe. --Caitlin
"This was certainly not a plan of mine," he sighed, "though if you want me to kiss you again..." he winked. They were just about at the barracks, and his men were already opening the gates for him. It was clear all the way to the training center and the remains of the old Barracks. He'd had the area cleared for today's lesson, so there were no EIRAL's training in the area today. Such was the benefit of being the High Commander. Not to say that there were no EIRAL's hanging about the main Barracks, all of which tried porly to make it appear they weren't spying on their smiling commander.
"So, I hope there's a more utilitarian outfit underneath that dress of yours, or your father may have another reason to be angry with me." he deep laugh. His voice was generally within the tenor range, but his laughs were deep and almost seemed to bellow.
Post by Caitlin Cockfoster on Sept 20, 2014 6:16:17 GMT
She might have blushed if she were playing with him, but her shock and awe of him right now was too genuine to put on pretensions. The entered the gate and crossed the front lawn or field, or whatever they called it. She followed his lead, and when he asked about her wardrobe she spun around, grabbed the sides of her dress and held it out for inspection. "What do you mean, you don't like my dress?" She teased. Her leggings could easily be seen in the missing front panel of the gown, but she intended to shed the extra layers anyway. While fall might be on its way, there was still enough summer sun to make a girl wish she wasn't wearing so many stifling layers.
She sat her glass down next to the decanter and leaned back. This was nice... like falling into a vat of marshmallow fluff. Calm, muffled, the rest of the world blocked out by the closed door to his cabin, and here they were safe inside. Safe from reality, safe from their own complicated lives. Safe from duty. Safe from context. Just. Safe. --Caitlin
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