WE ARE NOT
WHO WE USED TO BE
Yes, the trespasser answers. Not to drink before breakfast.
Ariel’s response is immediate and unimpressed chuff. The effect might be amusing, at least if it were to have come from a house cat. Ariel is no such thing and turns a dismissive shoulder.
Orestes has yet to decide what he thinks of the quick-witted stranger. And yet, here I am. Perhaps it is Orestes’s age showing, that makes him less inclined to answer with a smile. But one eventually emerges in response, past the point where it is polite. It might have unnerved him to discover August within the heart of the citadel, but—well, there are still many things Orestes is learning about his own kingdom.
Then:
It is nice to know there are such venerable survivors of Solterra’s kings.
Orestes studies him. The comment is affable, but barbed.
I think the term you are looking for, Ariel whispers slyly in his mind.Is ‘catty.’
Orestes nearly snorts aloud.
Or, as I find that insulting to my own kind, ‘cheeky.’
“Don’t worry. The inhabitants of Solterra will far outlive her kings.” Orestes glances at the tree. Ariel’s glow abates and, for a moment, he returns to being a mundane—the word is a stretch—lion, lounging on the lowest branch of the olive tree. ”But I can’t think of the last time a stranger worried themselves with such affairs.” Orestes smiles now, a soft and ambient sort of expression made heavy by the age in his eyes.
He begins to trail around the tree, following the carving paths that seem to always lead to the centrepiece of the garden. Glancing at the olive tree, Orestes imagines it has seen as much suffering as he himself has, if not more. What is the purpose of something so old, if not to bear witness?
“And what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?” Orestes asks conversationally.
Ariel’s tail flicks.
The Sovereign glances over his shoulder at his lookalike and manages a short, rueful smirk. The scene is strange enough to belong in a dream. After another pause, Orestes adds: "I am Orestes, by the way."
☀☀☀
"Orestes" || "Ariel." || @August
