Possibly Suitable|Skyheort | Talen'sul

[Kender Bard]

Luminous felt a bit in a daze as she woke and donned her new outfit with the help of one of the palace maids.

When she arrived, she'd been filled with a mixture of sullen anger and relief. She was glad to see her mother again, but she still had not fully forgiven her for leaving as she did.

The woman she had spent the past day with was barely recognizable as her mother.

Lya had been... Well, vibrant was a bit of a strong word, but there was an energy to her that Luminous couldn't recall having seen before. Revitalized. That was it; like a wilting flower that'd been given a fresh life by a skilled Earth. She'd been smiling, for Soahc's sake! She'd bustled about, settling Luminous in, with a kind of excited and devoted attention that had utterly blown her expectations away. Once she was settled, Lya had whisked her away to... Shop. She'd walked leisurely with Luminous around the markets, calm and at peace. All the nervous attention that Luminous had associated with her shut-in of a mother whenever they did go out was gone. True, they had a hefty number of guards to escort them, but they'd kept their distance and done an admirable job of not making their presence known to the pair.

The people greeted Lya and Luminous enthusiastically (from a safe distance. None were permitted to draw too close without getting blocked by one of the guards.) And Lya seemed just as pleased to chat up the merchants at the stalls she stopped at and anyone else who might be within reasonable talking distance, when she wasn't chatting Luminous's ear off about the goings on of Talen'sul.

They'd come away from that with several pieces of beautiful silver jewelry, silken scarves, hairpins, and other such baubles, all of them for Luminous.

After an intimate dinner at the palace, Lya had escorted Luminous back to her room, drawn her close, and held her tight, whispering into her hair how much she'd missed and loved Luminous.

It'd left Luminous shaken and she'd not gotten much sleep. She no longer was certain what to think or feel.

Not to mention the new dress. Another gift from her mother, waiting for her on her arrival. It was a bit snug about the chest, but it fit. Lya had promised to have it refitted and adjusted for her. Once dressed and wearing some of her new jewelry, having her hair combed and put up into a pleasant style, Luminous met her mother at the breakfast table.

"I'll have duty to attend to," Lya warned Luminous. "Yesterday was just for us and I'll try to steal what time I can for you as well. But in the meanwhile, I've arranged for a bit of company for you since I've no doubt you miss your friends in Maelstrom. If you find him distasteful, let me know, and I won't invite him back."

Luminous frowned thoughtfully. "Who is it?"

"A younger gentleman," Lya warned. "But well mannered and, to all accounts, quite sweet. He should provide a pleasant diversion if nothing else. His name is Tristan Fell, son of Lady Jane Fell."

Luminous frowned. "The name sounds vaguely familiar," she said. "I mean, outside the obvious. I have heard of him. It feels as though I might have met him once."

"Once, long ago," Lya agreed. "It's past time you got reacquainted. He should arrive by noon."

So Luminous spent the time after breakfast trying to comb her memory for something regarding Tristan, but she came up empty. She tidied her room and instead tried to think of how she was going to spend a day with a stranger.

[Darastrix]

At less than a quarter mark to noon, the young heir to House Fell was escorted to Luminous' room. Once allowed entry, Tristan gave a deep bow, flaring his wings a little like Zack had taught him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness," he greeted, and his smile suggested his words were more than just formality.

He seemed quite at ease--if a bit curious of his surroundings--even though he could remember their first meeting no more than Luminous. He liked meeting people in general, and his brother brought him to visit in Anarlina enough that he wasn't one to be made shy by being introduced to royalty.

[Kender Bard]

Luminous returned the smile, rising and curtseying. She found his friendliness was infectious and couldn't help but already find him an agreeable person. Her eyes flicked to his wings in appreciation; she thought the flourish a nice touch.

Luminous's room in the Palace of the Winds was stark by comparison to her home in Maelstrom, given how little time she had spent here in her life. The furnishings were comfortable and pleasant enough, but there was little in the way of personal touches. Queen sat upon her bed, demurely grooming herself while Lady hopped down and approached Tristan to sniff.

"It's good to meet one of Sulan subjects," Luminous replied. "Lord Fell, I'm informed we have met in the past, but I'm afraid I can't well remember the occasion. For that, I humbly apologize and hope that today we might make some amends."

They were all pretty words and a testimony to her studies and training. Although she'd not much enjoyed lessons of etiquette, hosting, and speech, she was grateful for them now. "Would you like any refreshment?"

[Darastrix]

Tristan's smile faltered a little at being called "Lord Fell," but it came back quickly enough. With his mother still at the head of the House, he didn't really feel like a lord, and he still thought of his father whenever he heard the title. "Please," Tristan replied. "But you don't need to apologize; I was so young, I barely remember it myself."

He had a vague memory of the trip itself, of being bundled up in the carriage and watching a lot of mountain scenery go by. He thought he remembered other children at some point, but he couldn't recall faces or names. Though there was....

"I think I remember something about a pony, but no more particulars than that." He noticed Lady then, and grinned. "May I pet your cat?"

[Kender Bard]

"Go ahead," Luminous offered. "She likes you. Lady's more friendly than Queen."

Queen just stared from atop the bed, regal as her namesake. Lady stepped a bit closer, starting to purr a little.

"While I send for refreshment, would you like to walk with me up to the solar in loft of the palace?" Luminous asked. "It'll be very pretty in there and we could entertain ourselves with a game or talk, whichever you'd prefer."

[Darastrix]

Tristan glanced over at Queen and gave Her Fluffyness a little bow before lowering himself into a crouch so he could reach out to scratch around Lady's ears. "I'd like that," he replied, looking up at Luminous. "What kind of games do you like to play? Maybe there's one we can play and talk at the same time."

[Kender Bard]

Luminous smiled, thinking of some of the games she got up to with her friends back home. No those really wouldn't be appropriate here at all. "I enjoy all sorts of things," she professed, truthfully. "I'm fond of active games. Chases and the like. But that really won't be appropriate right now. I'm proud to say that I'm quite skilled at chess. Also a variety of card games. A few dice games that my former guard taught me. And I know a few parlour story-telling games, but not many and I admit I'm not terribly good at them. I have trouble... Focusing on the details."

[Darastrix]

"It's too bad we can't do something more active," Tristan said, rising from his crouch. "But I'm sure I'd get an earful about it from someone." Not from his mother--she seldom scolded, but she did act disappointed sometimes, which could be worse--but someone in the palace or one of his tutors was a distinct possibility.

"I know how to play chess, though. I wouldn't say I'm skilled, but I can at least last more than a few moves with my brother. And I like card games, too."

[Kender Bard]

Luminous seemed a bit surprised at his admission to activity and decided that, perhaps, she could find a way to play some more fun games. "Let's play a round of chess, then," she said. She liked that. Even though she often didn't remember how the board had gotten to a certain set-up, she could play competently simply by making judgements based off what was set in front of her. In a way, it freed her from the shackles of long-term plans and trapping herself by getting too focused on a certain piece for too long.

"Are your wings matured enough to fly?" she asked him curiously as she led the way out of her bedroom and towards the stairs that would lead up to the glass-roof loft.

[Darastrix]

Tristan gave a little sigh at the question. "Not quite. My elemental tutor thinks I'll need another year before I can really fly without help from my sign. I can't wait for that. Right now, though, they're mostly just one more thing to keep clean, like a white cloak I can't take off." He didn't mind keeping his feathers straight so much--that felt nice when he had someone else helping with the ones he couldn't reach, like having his hair stroked--but keeping them clean was another matter. He'd almost like to just wear wing dust all the time and be done with it, but the stuff got everywhere and he wasn't really old enough to wear it even for special occasions.

"Do you ever wish you had wings?" he asked, tilting his head.

[Kender Bard]

This time it was Luminous's turn to sigh. "I did once," she said. "Now, not so much, I suppose. One of my dearest friends is a winged Wind and of course so is mother, so I've seen how much work they are. It's not like I can't fly without them, either, so... I suppose not. Besides, I think I'm faster than the winged Winds my age." She smirked at that, a bit of gloating, and a very small look of challenge. "I do like to race. What of yourself?" By then they'd reached the loft; it was a large room with a domed ceiling made entirely of glass. There were several servants whose primary job was to keep it cleaned while Lya was occupying the palace.

The light did make the room rather stuffy, though, so Luminous flew up to it and undid a few latches, pushing some of the panes up and propping them with slender sticks so that they could also get a bit of fresh air.

The rest of the room was a picture in cozy getaway. There were several bookcases, a large desk that now sat a touch dusty and long forgotten. Luminous was primarily concerned with the chess table carved of marble and stone near the center of the room. She took a cushioned seat and dragged it over, settling herself on it and taking the pieces out of the wooden drawer under the table, setting them up. "White or black?"

[Darastrix]

Tristan looked around while Luminous moved about the room to set things up. He eyed the bookshelves with interest, wondering what sort of books they held. He wasn't the reader that Zira and his father were, but he did enjoy a bit of light reading. He wished there were a way that he could give Zira their father's library, but it was one of those things that had been built on and added to over the generations. It belonged more to the House than to a single person.

He shook himself a little and walked over to the chess table. "Black, please." Remembering the prior point of conversation, he said, "I don't really race so much as chase--I play guards and thieves with my friends sometimes--but I'm pretty fast. It's easier going straight, but it's fun to chase after someone and have to dodge things, too."

[Kender Bard]

Luminous smiled fondly in remembrance. "I haven't played guards and thieves in years," she sighed, setting up her white pieces. "I was always a guard. And my friends fought over who had to help me because otherwise it'd be three or more thieves against one guard. Which side do you like playing best?"

[Darastrix]

"Well, I like playing with Bryant, Lord Furinko's son, and he's always a guard," Tristan said. "And sometimes the thieves bribe us with candy to let them get away. But it's fun to hide and try to outsmart the guards, too, so...both?"

[Kender Bard]

"Fair enough," Luminous chuckled. She only gave the game, as it started, passing interest, glancing at the bored now and then between conversing. "So are you and Bryant close friends? Everyone should have a best friend they can confide in, I feel. My best friends are the older children of the Sanderson family back in Maelstrom."