August thinks that he has heard those bells ring too many times in his life already.
He isn’t that old, for goddess’ sake; it’s hard to conceive that he’s already seen four sovereigns. He’d only been a boy when Reichenbach took over, and the years between then and now had been tumultuous not just for him, or even Denocte, but all of Novus - and yet it feels as natural as anything, to answer that summoning now.
There had been no crowds such as these the first time he’d looked on the castle walls - all those steps had seemed near-insurmountable when he was nothing but a knock-kneed colt, come to play with the kitchen children while she worked as a maid. But the throng does not bother him; there is nothing of the nervous tension when Isorath and Aislinn had announced the Dragon Gate was closing, nothing of the cautious celebration when each mare was crowned Queen after that.
The only strange thing is that he stands alone to listen, and not between Minya and Aghavni, or with any others from the Scarab.
Oh, but there are plenty of familiar faces. It’s Morrighan he watches first, of course, and he can feel first one and then the other brow rising when she makes her announcement. He’s a little surprised the Regent - Queen, rather - is so open with her falling out with Antiope, but the paint’s honesty had always been something August appreciated about her. His previous conversation with Antiope makes more sense now, too - the way she’d told him she could not appoint him to a role in the court.
Well, August has weathered plenty of changes before now. This one, at least, had potential.
He does not rush to be the first to speak; it’s a man he doesn’t recognize who breaks the silence of the crowd. But the palomino’s brow creases when the monk steps forward, and lowers himself in supplication. Oughtn’t you serve your goddess, monk? he thinks, eyeing the trailing edges of the man’s bandages.
He is less surprised when the young unicorn speaks, though he does huff a soft breath when she asks for the position of Warden. But August’s gaze only turns truly judgmental when a stranger - emphasis on strange, with that black and weeping skull - asks for a position. August is no longer one of the spiders sitting at the center of the web of connections that is the court, but he still knows that if he’d ever seen this creature before in Novus, he’d remember it.
Even as this last stranger finishes speaking, the palomino is stepping through the crowd, toward the steps and Morrighan’s expectant gaze. He lifts his gaze to hers, but does not smile. Somehow, despite the crowd and the distance between them, it feels more intimate than when he knelt before Antiope in the throne room.
“Queen Morrighan,” he begins, and dips his head. “My mother served this castle and court before I was born, and it would be my honor to serve it now as Warden. I’m willing to fight for the position, if need be.” The last he says with a glance toward the young unicorn, whom he nods at with a slight smile.
@Layla @Morrighan
He isn’t that old, for goddess’ sake; it’s hard to conceive that he’s already seen four sovereigns. He’d only been a boy when Reichenbach took over, and the years between then and now had been tumultuous not just for him, or even Denocte, but all of Novus - and yet it feels as natural as anything, to answer that summoning now.
There had been no crowds such as these the first time he’d looked on the castle walls - all those steps had seemed near-insurmountable when he was nothing but a knock-kneed colt, come to play with the kitchen children while she worked as a maid. But the throng does not bother him; there is nothing of the nervous tension when Isorath and Aislinn had announced the Dragon Gate was closing, nothing of the cautious celebration when each mare was crowned Queen after that.
The only strange thing is that he stands alone to listen, and not between Minya and Aghavni, or with any others from the Scarab.
Oh, but there are plenty of familiar faces. It’s Morrighan he watches first, of course, and he can feel first one and then the other brow rising when she makes her announcement. He’s a little surprised the Regent - Queen, rather - is so open with her falling out with Antiope, but the paint’s honesty had always been something August appreciated about her. His previous conversation with Antiope makes more sense now, too - the way she’d told him she could not appoint him to a role in the court.
Well, August has weathered plenty of changes before now. This one, at least, had potential.
He does not rush to be the first to speak; it’s a man he doesn’t recognize who breaks the silence of the crowd. But the palomino’s brow creases when the monk steps forward, and lowers himself in supplication. Oughtn’t you serve your goddess, monk? he thinks, eyeing the trailing edges of the man’s bandages.
He is less surprised when the young unicorn speaks, though he does huff a soft breath when she asks for the position of Warden. But August’s gaze only turns truly judgmental when a stranger - emphasis on strange, with that black and weeping skull - asks for a position. August is no longer one of the spiders sitting at the center of the web of connections that is the court, but he still knows that if he’d ever seen this creature before in Novus, he’d remember it.
Even as this last stranger finishes speaking, the palomino is stepping through the crowd, toward the steps and Morrighan’s expectant gaze. He lifts his gaze to hers, but does not smile. Somehow, despite the crowd and the distance between them, it feels more intimate than when he knelt before Antiope in the throne room.
“Queen Morrighan,” he begins, and dips his head. “My mother served this castle and court before I was born, and it would be my honor to serve it now as Warden. I’m willing to fight for the position, if need be.” The last he says with a glance toward the young unicorn, whom he nods at with a slight smile.
@Layla @Morrighan
August - -
there's a lover in the story
but the story's still the same
but the story's still the same
- Which role(s) would you prefer to have for your character? 1. Warden 2. Regent?
- If you are given a role, how many posts can you comfortably commit to a month in the court boards on average without feeling stressed out? (Is at least 3 a month a reasonable amount for you?) 3 is definitely doable, with 5+ more likely (especially in the coming months as I rotate out some others)
- Would you be willing to help with adopts, lore, plots, any court events? Yes! It'd be an honor to help build on the rich lore of Novus/Night Court.
- Do you have any events in mind that you would love to see? Particularly with Warden in mind I'd love to do more with sparring/maybe stealing and riddles - I'd be glad to brainstorm a way that doesn't take quite the commitment, both time of otherwise, of some of the tournaments we've had.
- What would you like to see done in Denocte overall? Just continuing to work on court activity and intra-court ties.
- What would your character like to do IC? August has had quite an arc from working most of his life at the service of the Scarab/to protect Aghavni. He did some traveling, spent some time in Solterra (of which he has mixed feelings) and has come out the other end of his mid-life crisis realizing that he needs to belong to something and loves/is faithful to Denocte. I'd love to see him work with other Night Court citizens, maybe as a liaison between its rulers and the underbelly he came from.
