| If We WERE fighting, Then We're Not Anymore |
| Summary: | Elisha sucks it up and apologizes to Dovi, sorta. |
| Date: | 11/22/19 |
| Related: | http://eternalcrusade.wikidot.com/log:1875-11-14:bull-vs-savage |
| NPCs: | Brandon d'Bartone, also horses! |
| Players: |
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| Daemon's Hall |
| The highly defensible Daemon's Hall stands near the top of Mount Hadres, the smooth stone walls, defensible gate, not to mention the sheer drop that Mount Hadres offers, ensures that it is perhaps one of the highest Holdfasts in any Kingdom. Inside ornate rooms are matched with rough stone corridors, and vice versa. With a good many outer buildings linked via stone passageways, it is as close to a warren as one can get. The main hall itself is dominated by the large daemon's horns that are hung up on the main wall opposite the great entrance, beneath which sits a dais and the liege Lord's chair. A great fireplace ensures a certain warmth, though the cold stone walls throughout the castle ensure that heat is sparse. |
| Friday the 22nd of Novembre, 1875 IE. |
One thing Ludovic does a whole lot more of these days is a train. Train train train. He was kinda indolent before the war if the truth is told. Coasting by on nothing but natural talent, size and the physical benefits of an active lifestyle. Now though? There's something almost knife-edged about the way he works to refine his combat skills and its obviously doing him good. Not only has he lost the padding that often sneaks up on men who're no longer exactly young but he's also really, really, good. Today he's been out on the field playing calf chase (goat-chase?) and the man and horse are both steaming in the frigid air as he rides up near to Elisha and jumps down with his usual easy exuberance. "What do you think?" He asks Elisha. No trace of any previous arguments in his tone. Heck, he's behaving as if she's been around all week. "Isn't she a real beauty?" He's talking about his new mare, nocte, with her long 'swanlike' neck, finely boned frame and richly black coat. Such pride in his voice. "Nimble as a goat."
-
Elisha has been out in the field too, though very likely not Dovi's. She hasn't been /avoiding/ him since the argument but she hasn't intentionally gone anywhere he might be either. Still, the one has conspired to bring them together and he thankfully seems in a much better mood.
"You say that like all your horses aren't beautiful Dovi," she remarks with the incredulous envy of an outsider, though she does have her own d'Korbina steed she's in the process of brushing down now with a small smile.
-
Nocte's not just a d'Korbina bred horse. She's one of the rare horses that the herders tend to, well horde, but also call the dark stallions to get. It's like comparing a mongrel to a purebred dalmation. He laughs though. "Not all of them." He ducks to start unfastening the mares gear. Passing it off to his hovering, teenage, squire Brandon. "I'm going to make this into a proper type." He gives the tired Mares shoulder a friendly slap before bending to the next task. "Nocte and Sidhe. Founders of a line." There's a grin for Elisha. Flashing the white of his teeth. "Going to be the finest light horse in the world. Ain't that so?" He chuckles. "Even if they are probably gonna end up black for a while. Not been lucky enough to find gold or pearl one yet. But. I've been collecting the ones who've signs that they have the potential for it. So we'll have a real fine spring soon. Real fine."
-
Elisha grins as she pats her horse on the back and leaves her to feed while trotting over to examine the horse in question curiously, she's only just recently come to get comfortable in the saddle, forget breeds and pedigrees.
"So we have the finest and prettiest horses in the world, what then?" she asks good-naturedly as she hesitantly reaches out to pet the unfamiliar horse.
-
Nocte snuffles over Elisha's shoulder and down to her pockets. Assuming that there must be treats if she's getting so much interest. Ludovic meanwhile just keeps on the post-exercise rub down. "First I get the finest horses. Then we get the finest of people to use em. Then we sell em for the finest prices." He grins at her. "What else?" He gives Nocte's hindquarters a push to make her move a little bit. "You've seen Darius' mare? Giving her up was a gamble but I figured that all those folks who see him riding hers gotta be worth more than the single foal she could give us."
-
Elisha giggles softly and shakes her head as the mare snuffles her out for treats, not that she can blame her, and she'll find an apple in one of those pockets, though not really intended for /this/ horse. "Well you've got me, you and I will just have to whip the other knights into shape, won't we?" she asks as she waggles her eyebrows playfully. She pauses a bit at the mention of Darius before hesitantly shaking her head. "I haven't even met my brother by marriage yet honestly, any clue where he's off to?" because despite what she drunkenly claimed to Lemmon she has no idea.
-
"Not a surprise," Ludovic says offhandedly. "You're not about that much and he's always out with the armies. He's a real fine general you know? I dunno if we'd have ever got so far if not for him." He grins again. Still in that good place, Ludovic tends to live in. "Even if he does need to learn when to retreat." So says a man who accepted a duel to the death with a baroness, when he was already hurt, and nearly lost an arm. Probably not the best person to be saying such things.
-
Elisha snorts when /dovi/ of all people try to criticize someone for being stubborn, but for now, at least she's not directly antagonizing him, he's only just come back around after their last spat. "It's hard to sot still I guess, after two years of never getting enough food or rest you think all I'd want is to stay stationary, but I get anxious if I do that," she admits quietly.
-
"Yes. I know." Ludovic says "Took me more than a year before I could bear to be on this side of the battle lines. This ain't a short war though. I don't think it will be over before my sons are grown."
-
Elisha nods softly and sighs before grinning. "One, I need to get married and started on my own brood," she muses with a tired sigh, not like she can afford to take the time off for pregnancy right now, but being the only technical d'Meloni comes with certain expectations, at least from herself.
-
Ludovic smirks at her. "Don't get the hurry myself. But if that's what you wanna do." he shrugs. "Just don't forget you need my permission. So you'll have to pick someone who's going to treat you right. Alia's too. Suppose hers more than mine."
-
Elisha laughs and shakes her head. "Its not about want dovi, Alia is marrying out of the house, I know bloodlines aren't a big deal to imperials but Aequor rooted it into me, so I just…wanna gove Meloni a fighting chance to survive as a bloodline y'know?" she muses before grinning and shoving him good-naturedly, she definitely has no one in mind yet but the sentiment is appreciated.
-
"Alia's told you to find someone then?" Ludovic asks her. "And what about Anton and the others? It's not like you're the only one with a claim to the name." He shrugs. "Before you say it. Yeah. I know. It's not the same when its a second cousin or whatever." He smirks at her when she shoves him. "What? He asks. You wanna get me to set you up?"
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Elisha shakes her head and chuckles before rolling her eyes as he brings up setting her up or something. Not that the idea completely lacks merit of course. "Depends, you about to match me up with your cousin again?" she asks bemusedly.
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Ludovic asks. "When did I set you up with him before?"
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Elisha chuckles softly and rolls her eyes. "I suspect it was to shut up my expressions of affections for you, but the day you gave me Albus you mentioned the match, "
-
"Huh." Ludovic shrugs again. "I was probably teasing you. You talk about it a fair bit you know? Hard not to notice."
-
Elisha nods softly and sighs. "Sorry, I don't mean too, I just…feel like I had a life planned and a way to get it, and being enslaved three it all out the window, so I'm trying to recapture the normalcy, y' know?"
-
"Yeah. I get it." Ludovic says "I'd two older brothers and a life with Kayla doing the only thing I'd ever dreamed of before it happened too. But sometimes things change. Just gotta keep picking yourself up and trying again." He bumps her shoulder to shoulder. "Helps if you don't tell your liege that he's doing a bad job of fighting the war too."
-
Elisha rolls her eyes and sighs, alright, they're at that point, big girl pants Elisha. "I don't recall saying you were doing a bad job, but you know what they say about hindsight, I love you Dovi, I just run my mouth sometimes, especially when I was blackout drunk not six hours before," she can't look at him, but the words are genuine, Dovi's not the only one with a pride around here.
-
Ludovic just gives her another shoulder bump and then drops a pile of sweaty horse blanket into her arms and then a moment later he wraps Nocte's lead rope around her wrist. "Give those to the groom would ya? And get me some bulls milk. All this talk about drinks-making me thirsty."
-
Elisha rolls her eyes, she's happy to move on from the subject but…Ewww! "I'm not your squire," she grumbles, and yet, even as she says that she gives kisses to both horses and moves to do just that, and if Dovi gets a smaller glass than her, well that's what happens when you make your pseudo sister your errand girl!