[P] blackbird claw, raven wing

[Seraphina]

S E R A P H I N A

in the absence of everything
ABSTAIN FROM FEAR

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At Avdotya’s remarks on Florentine – a thinly veiled threat, and a vote of confidence in their capabilities that Seraphina was not yet sure that she shared – Seraphina offered a slight dip of her head. “I suppose we’ll see, then,” She said, smoothly, “where this love goes. Between kings and queens, it can be just as catastrophic as sweet.” Love affairs between royalty that went smoothly meant prosperity for both nations, but those that ended in tears were just as quick to breed bitterness. What that would mean for the Crow King and the woman of honey and lavender had yet to be discerned.

Avdotya’s idle remark prompted, “Not even healers alone – we are a nation of warriors, but it would be to our advantage to invest in a variety of skillsets to bolster our resources.” They could keep working on the garden, of course…with a bit of patience and appropriately skilled workers, an irrigation system might even be possible. Her thoughts didn’t linger on that notion for long, however; thoughts of Night remained like a dark cloud, whisking away her focus on much anything else. “And, if we are to consider Denocte an threat, then we have to attempt to match that which they already have; force acts in our favor, but they are a nation of spies…” The paused deliberately, eyes narrowing. She hadn’t forgotten the spy that she was quite nearly positive lingered in Solterra; that was a threat that needed to be dealt with as immediately as possible. “…thieves, and assassins. It might be in our best interest to encourage some more subtle skills, in those who come by them naturally.” The idea of returning the favor was tempting.

A hint of amusement pricked at the corner of Seraphina’s lips at the dark mare’s description of Rostislav. “When you phrase it like that, I can hardly understand why Maxence would think him a threat.” That had been her stance from the beginning, though, and it was only confirmed by speaking with him; Rostislav knew nothing, and he was useless to them. (She didn’t have anything in particular against Rostislav, privately, she’d rather let Denocte have him anyways – Solterra had its fill of hot-headed warriors already, and the old drunk wasn’t much of an asset to her. If he'd been so easy to capture, better to leave him to Denocte’s notorious revelry.) She inclined her head thoughtfully, though, at the notion of going to Denocte; she recalled how poorly it went when Maxence had tried the same thing. “I won’t be so quick to walk into their clutches if I can meet Reichenbach on more even footing – I’ll speak to Florentine. Perhaps she could be something of a go-between and arrange a meeting.” She needed to speak to the young queen of Terrastella anyways, given the tentative relationship between their nations, and, if she could get Rostislav out of his nest of crows, so to speak, all the better.

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@Avdotya - <3