Fears of Night [Annette/Open]

[Ayaena]

Ayaena had returned relatively unscathed from the battles at Imbolc. A cut or two from a sharp fall when she went into a roll, and if she'd been human there would surely have been bruises. As it was, her glimmering skin looked like she'd spent the entire night inside out of harm's way. Naoku was a bit more battered with a nasty tear across his ear that she was gingerly tending to and keeping an eye on. At the thought, her feral amber and honey flecked eyes dipped down to watch the massive ivory beast with a motherly stare.

It was day, but it felt like night. Everything was dim but with a hazy copper glow to make it seem slightly warmer than the 'true' night. Her strides were calm and even, not betraying the worried thoughts about this new phenomenon. Getting overly upset about it wouldn't do anything, she'd seen things strange as this before. The best thing to do right now would be to seek counsel with someone a little more equipped with knowledge, and go from there. Although many were criticizing Annette's grasp of the situation and her ability to lead her court in the crisis, Ayaena had no real complaints.

Truthfully, she felt that the Unseelie had been more lucky than anything. Having a nightmare army to fight a nightmare army was convenient; it was something the Seelie lacked. But had they the same resources, things might have happened differently. It was something she hoped to discuss, surely the Seelie had hidden tricks up ancient sleeves just waiting to be discovered.

The quietness was startling, and she hoped she'd chosen a good time to find the Red Queen in the throne room. The brilliance inside had not been affected by the gloomyness of the outside. The trees still glittered with oceanic hues, and the enchanted forest still felt warm and alive with life and magic. She sighed deeply, letting it ease over her skin like sinking into a warm bath. When she opened her eyes again, she spotted Annette waiting almost expectantly. Either the woman had incredible intuitive senses, or Ayaena had incredibly good timing. Or both.

She dipped into a graceful bow before rising up and smiling softly. "Queen Annette, I am relieved to see you looking so radiant." Her form seemed unmarred and her power still breathed across the room in an unwavering stream. One look at the Queen and anyone would question the rumours going around, her very presence seemed made to defy those words. Ayaena wasn't sure how much of it was glamour, if any, and was certainly not about to ask.

"I had come to discuss with you the current dilemma, and what the Seelie might be able to do in combating it." Naoku growled softly at her words and she stroked him between both ears. Chuckling lightly, she dipped her head down towards the tiger. "We are both eager to make use of our able bodies for the court." There was a certain thrill about being back in the land of faerie. She felt like she had a lot more purpose here, her relatively indestructible body had served her well already in only a week of returning. She liked to use her mind and magic as much as her physical ability, which was why she was now coming to see exactly where this would lead her.

[Queen Annette]

She had been waiting, not for Ayaena specifically, but for someone. In one hand she grasped a glass of sparkling white wine, the bowl of the crystal stemware supported by her palm. The glass as well as the golden fluid shimmered in the magically lit throne room. Her second hand delicately touched to a base of a bright purple daylily, one that of several that had grown amongst vines that had grown up the trunk of a tree, nearly overtaking the inside walls of the throne room in a shade of iridescent emerald. She sniffed the flower, closing her eyes as the potent smell was only made more potent by the Imbolc Festival that had just passed. Despite the disaster the festival had brought and the lack of sun that followed, spring was dawning in the Seelie Court, Annette could feel it.

She knew Ayaena was approaching her before she spoke, but Reticent Fury did not turn to meet her gaze until well after she began to rise up from her bow. Her eyes beheld the amethyst sidhe with a look of endearment, a quiet relief that the woman was not a new face or one whose presence she loathed. In a time where the queen was surrounded by doubters friends, or at least acquaintances, were comforting.

The compliment did not fall upon deaf ears and a smile coupled with a slight curtsy relayed the thank you. ”A radiance we share common ground in, I guess.” she remarked, her own brand of a compliment.

Ayaena’s next words prompted a low growl from the mantel. Ayaena’s bonded was one of the more majestic, more imposing bonded species in the Seelie Court. And though the beast was not her own Annette felt an attachment to the tiger in that moment. They shared qualities that did not end at the ferocity they could unleash at any moment. Both were quiet in their contempt.

Annette turned her eyes away from Ayaena’s bonded and upwards to her. She nodded thoughtfully at the words and as she spoke began to move towards the woman, ”The Seelie Court lacks such bodies...” She slinked towards the sidhe, moving around her so that she may whisper in the woman’s ear. She wrapped her left hand around and held the glass of wine in front of Ayaena’s face, offering her the vintage. ”But you body, a sidhe body, is the most valuable of all, my Segna.” Her breathe was hot against the crook of the Segna’s neck when she spoke again, ”Tell me, what is it you think of the Host King and his army of hellions?” The Host, of course, referred to the Sluagh but she would not say such a word. Sluagh was too ugly of a word to be used in the shining halls of the Seelie Court.

[Ayaena]

It was very recently that Ayaena had been made aware of her new position in the courts. Although she hadn't been as useful during Imbolc as she'd have liked to be, it had touched her that Annette's judgement was a fond one. She was not surprised to see a softness in the Queen's gaze, and it seemed like she had indeed come at a good time.

Ayaena smiled brilliantly, recognizing the compliment instantly for what it was. "You honor me too much." There was a touch of surprise to her voice, for being put in the same breath as the Queen's own beauty was a bit startling. There was certainly no comparison, it was why men and women alike trembled before the woman, and not just out of fear...

Naoku often responded with the decorum and elegance that one would expect of his species. Without possibly being truly aware of their culture and mannerisms, he somehow never crossed the line and was always in check. But Ayaena's eyes darkened when she recalled his ferocity in battle, the icy blue tones of his eyes glowing as if under some phantom spell.

Her gaze had remained on Annette, watching as she seemed to study Naoku's unmoving form. As the Queen stood, Ayaena's pose became a little more straight and tall. One might think by the reaction that she had spent time in some army, but it also seemed natural. As soon as Annette was in close proximity, a light line of goosebumps broke out along her skin. She felt the caress of words alongside her ear and closed her eyes, making a soft 'Mmm' of approval only... to both the action and her words, presumably.

When her eyes opened to the light brush of arm, she accepted the wine gracefully, brushing her fingers over Annette's to clasp the class, and immediately took a sip. Not only a display of trust, but also of appreciation. "If it is valuable to you, it is completely to your use." It was a bold statement to make, but not unexpected. By pledging herself to the courts, she had essentially implied exactly these words long before.

Though the question was a serious one, the delivery evoked a shiver from the lithe woman. She didn't try to hide the reaction, to deny the Queen's thrall would be insulting and was too much of a human habit. They were impossible to understand in terms of hindering their sexuality. "My Queen makes it difficult to have unpleasant thoughts at the moment." She laughed lightly and breathed out, settling the assault on her more delicate senses somewhat.

"If I may speak freely... I think them and their King untrustworthy, and I fear what the Unseelie may be unleashing with or without their own knowledge. They belong in the dark, unseen and unheard. They grow bold with freedom... and this freedom coincides suspiciously with certain alarming events of late..." There was notable suspicion and distaste in the amethyst fae's voice, her fingers running along the slender stem in her hands with thought.

[Queen Annette]

The Queen did not shuddered or respond in any way to Ayaena’s brushing touch. The soft caress of the woman mixed with the electricity of two sidhes’ magic entwining was enjoyable enough that Annette did not feel the need to voice it. Instead, she merely enjoyed it, basking in the woman’s aura and scent. Sidhe were not immune to one another’s charm, although it was less hypnotizing in comparison to the affects the magic had on other fae, Annette could still feel the undeniable tug of Ayaena’s innate appeal. Some sidhe’s magnetism was stronger than other’s and Annette had a feeling that Ayaena was in the upper percentile. The almighty Queen felt all but weak in the knees around her Segna, yet she enjoyed it.

She let out a small, Hmm as Ayaena declared her body Annette’s to use. It was a dangerous declaration to make, but one that earned the violet haired femme a token of respect from the queen. She drew away from Ayaena, her touch like smoke against the other’s flesh, light and wispy. She left the glass with the Segna, the queen had indulged on enough wine this evening.

Annette agreed wholeheartedly with Ayaena’s thoughts on the Sluagh and their half-breed King. She could not bring herself to trust a group who had so easily been swayed to follow a king that was not of their blood. Segwyn might have been half Sluagh but he was also half sidhe, any creature with sidhe blood was considered fae.

”Just as I believe. Their King…while we must not underestimate him we cannot afford to befriend him as the Darklings have. Yet he is an important player in all of this. I have my ideas, but what is it you suppose we do with this faux-king?” Annette knew what she wanted to hear, what mattered was if Ayaena thought the same.

[Ayaena]

There was less of an electric feeling to the mixing of their Sidhe auras, and more of a heavy warmth, like swimming in warm honey. It felt like it sucked her deeper just being around the Queen, but not in a way that made her lose her head, rather; she wanted to sink deeper. It was a heady addiction, and it was only natural that the Red Queen had a deeper and more addictive thrall than most others she regularly encountered.

Annette gave limited reactions, but for the ones she did give, Ayaena felt she read them well. She knew her declaration had not fallen on deaf ears, but she didn't need any words of confirmation. She'd signed on the dotted line and her verbal form would now be filed for later use. It should have bothered her, but if that were the case she wouldn't have said it in the first place.

The fact that the Sluagh King was half-Sidhe did make an impression in Ayaena's mind. It was a neutral one, but a potentially useful one. Being a mix of two sides meant it was leverage to fall in the eyes of either one at any moment. If he was too Sidhe, his army would question him. If he was too Sluagh, the Unseelie might look down upon him. "While the Seelie are above him and his kind, we can't allow him to remain in high esteem between his nightmare army and the Unseelie. If we can turn his army against him by showing just how Sidhe he is, someone is bound to second-guess their loyalties. As far as the Unseelie goes; what importance is the halfling King, without his army?" She tapped her cheek thoughtfully, toying with a lock of oceanic hair. "And at that time, without his army to back him, he would be much more easily disposed of to prevent any future uprisings."

It was bold to outright say it, but the Queen had asked, and Ayaena could tell that she didn't want a court-friendly response. The PG-13 filter could be left for the presence of those who were not in her trust barrier. If she couldn't trust Annette's private council, she wouldn't have come to seek it.

[Queen Annette]

She nodded her head slowly but twice in agreement. The queen paused before she spoke, her hands crossed behind her back as she trailed in front of Ayaena’s field of vision. The Segna was correct in her assumption that the Host was worthless to the Unseelie without their military might, but there was more to it than that. Even the Darklings would not align with the Sluagh if a fae ruler did not sit on the throne. If the Sluagh refused to follow Segwyn their whole kingdom would become disposable.

Annette would have nothing to do with the Host, but convincing their kingdom that their king was too sidhe to rule them was a necessary evil. Still she wasn’t about to march into the Underdark and befriend the nightflyer king, but any connection with the Seelie would tarnish the king’s reputation in the eyes of the savage monsters in the Underdark. Annette had a plan and it involved Ayaena.

”Disposing of the Host King won’t be necessary if he no longer controls his kingdom. The Darklings will have no choice but to destroy them if they break their treaty. But convincing the Host that their king it too fae to rule will not be easy. He does not see us as allies and will never come to the Shining Court.” She turned and looked at Ayaena, her eyes holding a look that alluded to the fact she required something of Ayaena.

She was inches away from the sidhe woman in a moment, eyes locked onto her own. ”But if you were to gain the nightflyer’s favor we could lure him here…Then I can do what I must to make them see just how sidhe he is.”

[Ayaena]

It was true that his current position and favour held everything together. Like a piece of fraying string, shifting him from his place could unravel every connection. He was so pivotal that it made things seem almost too easy to disrupt, not that she was complaining. The Seelie were not at rest with the sudden eclipse, and she worried for her people. She smiled lightly when Annette spoke, happy to hear that there were others to do the dirty work. Though the Red Queen had earned her name, the blood spilled on her should be more pure than his kind. Ayaena herself felt similarly.

As the Queen finished speaking, a conflicting look of seriousness and amusement somehow battled to take over the Sidhe woman's face. "You are entirely right, I'm glad our minds have both come to the same conclusions..." She let her thoughts drift off as she waited for the inevitable. If it was not easy, it would need to be done by someone... qualified. Not to say she was the best for the job, but Ayaena had come here seeking a solution, and Annette had found one. Naturally, who would she ask to put the ball in motion?

The other beautiful woman was now mere inches away, her aura pressing against Ayaena's skin, coaxing her without words. It was unnecessary persuasion, and probably unintentional, but her skin tingled lightly as if bribing her to give in to Annette. "Then, if that is what must be done, it is what I will do." A soft smile displayed her intended confidence at the task, though inwardly her mind was running a mile a minute as she contemplated what angle to take. He was not an ally, not even close, they had no ties whatsoever.

In fact, he would probably be hostile towards her unless she had something believable to use as a connection. She would probably have to isolate herself from the Seelie, he wouldn't come to the Golden Throne for her people. But, in the right circumstance, he might come for her. "I might not be able to contact for some time. Gaining his trust would probably require me to seem very detached from my court." She offered, offering the Queen to be in on her personal thoughts.

[Queen Annette]

Annette would not have spoken of her plan to Ayaena had she not intended the woman to be the catalyst for it. The violet sidhe embodied everything the queen could possibly wish for a participant in such a delicate plan: a calm mind adept for both speaking and thinking rationally as well as the sidhe blood that made her both beautiful and powerful. Thus she was relieved and almost proud of Ayaena for so willfully agreeing with the plan she put forth. The sidhe even anticipated the more subtle details the queen left out, an example of the intellect that had led Annette to choose Ayaena as one of her Segnas after only one meeting.

”You must appear to be many things. Detached,” she said and then continued, ”Perverse to some.” her tone sounded as if she was dictating a list. Her flashed a dangerous smile, ”Undoubtedly you understand what you must do, Ayaena. This man is of the Host but he is still a man. Few men would deny a sidhe let alone one of your beauty.” She licked the inside of her lip as she looked the Segna over with an expression that seemed to assure her of the plan.

Annette appreciated beauty when such appreciation was deserved. Ayaena could seduce the Host King, she was sure of it. The idea did trouble her slightly but it was necessary evil if it was only the allure of the sidhe that would see to it that the Host was removed from Alanor.

Once again Annette embraced Ayaena with an arm around her back as her other moved to the wine glass to slake a sip. ”Succeed and you will find my hand generous.”[ She leaned forth and placed a soft kiss on the lips of her Segna, the sweetness of the wine still prevalent on her lips. ”There is an opening to the Underdark in the mountains; there you may pass into the Host’s lands without Darkling detection.”

She drew backed and licked her lips, eyes still on Ayaena. ”Just a taste and I already envy the Host King.”

[Ayaena]

Although the woman was already resigned to her fate, there was a heaviness to her eyes when she considered what it was that she had to do. She wasn't a prude by any standards, but she held herself and her body in a certain high esteem. Unfortunately, that certain moral fiber would have to take a back seat as she swallowed the idea of using her body as a bribing tool. Had it been a Seelie, or perhaps... perhaps, even an Unseelie, she might not have had so much trouble swallowing it.

Calming the turmoil in her eyes, she breathed lightly. "I understand all too well. Though I don't relish the details." She didn't mind to show her disdain to the Queen, if anyone would understand, it was surely the ruler of the Seelie. She wondered idly what Annette would have to do herself, once the Host had been convinced to enter their shining land. It was best left unimagined.

As her own mind was working in a million different directions, she could see Annette's thoughts flowing through her mind. Her eyes were sure and set, analyzing like a serpent the Sidhe before her. Ayaena didn't flinch or fidget, and almost seemed to anticipate the Queen coming closer to her. As she was embraced, her hands lightly trailed down the spine of the other woman, not daring to venture anywhere too intimate. The curiosity was there, but the permission was not.

"I already have." She replied with an almost teasing smile, the look aptly setting the mood for the Queen's next action. Ayaena kissed back lightly, restraining herself and instead enjoying the brief sliding of soft lips upon hers, like silk. The wine was sweet with a bite once it settled, a very fitting taste for Annette. Her relaxed appreciation of the moment was stolen by the surprise information that the Underdark held a second entrance. She'd been lead to believe that the only way in was under the Unseelie courts, and had already started puzzling that over in her head.

"That... is unexpectedly useful." but before she could comment on it further, Annette held her gaze with a very familiar warmth to her expression. "There is not a fae in Alanor that the Red Queen must envy, not if she wishes it otherwise." The purple Sidhe's eyes shimmered with the implications of her words, just as she bowed at the waist and anticipated excusing herself to begin preparations.

"I will prepare immediately then. I look forward to returning." Her preparations wouldn't be limited to what she kept on her person, there was a lot she had to sort out in her head. With such an important but delicate task at hand, she could not afford to fail.

[Skylla]

If you'd like you can start a thread in the Underdark and I will reply with Segwyn.