poly_chromatic | Quest 296

Entry tags:

king's quest - princess rosella

Quest 296

[Voice Post]

I, er...yes, hello again, everyone, it's so very nice to see you again! My, it's that time of the year again, isn't it? This must be our visit for the winter season, since the last one we had was, er, in the fall. It's, um, been quite some time since then, hasn't it?

...Yes, well, um. Yes. Er...

...Oh, honestly, this is ridiculous, I've never had such trouble with the visitors before--er, mostly, anyway, since there was that one time when--well, but that's beside the point. Um. It's just that there's someone here and I think he's been following me and I can't for the life of me puzzle out why, since every time I turn around he just up and disappears again! Honestly, I've never seen anything like it; normally the people who come to call are so eager to say hello. They don't usually sneak around in the shadows and turn up in nothing but glimpses wherever I go.

But, er, in any case, I am eager to say hello to people, and so please do stop by if you have a moment, since I'd like very much to visit with you if you have the time. And, er, I suppose if the person following me--or even if you aren't following me, but simply happening to turn up wherever I go on coincidence--can see this, too, then please do come out and say hello, yourself? I can't imagine why you wouldn't...

I'll be looking forward to it, very much so!

[OOC: As per usual, she's canonically from just after the end of Perils of Rosella, and with some very disjointed and vague knowledge of Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder. ~~Not that that really means anything to anyone, but.~~ If something comes up that I don't want her to know, I'll just have her forget it, so have a party--anything goes! HIT HER WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT. Troll, threadjack, have a ball!

And of course, I am totally okay with backdating. ♥]

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[ Oh, so very apologetic. He rubs at his neck. ]

Um. Sorry about them.

[Oh, honestly. Another one?]

I'm sorry, about who?

[Cut her some slack, she's tired.]

[ They each have their functions, the Dogs. The Black reaps, the White chases.

And the Grey — the one they call Greyling, the youngest. His job is to love and be loyal, always, and to die in service of his masters. Man's best friend. The Faithful Hound. ]

Them. Blackie and Blondie. [ He tries to give her a smile. ] My brother and sister?

[For a minute she just. Blinks. The Black Dog scares her, of course, and always will, because that's the one she's drawn to time and again, even as she tries to keep away. The White is newer, but still frightening, that terror attached by the circumstances of their meeting.

But this one seems almost kind, and that just perplexes her, because her instinct is to trust even when she knows all too well how deceiving looks can be.]

You're related to them? Are...are you one of them, too?

[ Greyling knows what it's like, having to deal with his siblings. Blondie can't stand him personally (too soft and sentimental), and Blackie — well, that relationship's complicated, given how often the Black has been called upon to collect the Grey throughout the cycles of time. His look is sympathetic and understanding. ]

Yup, [ simple enough, said without shame. ] Hope that doesn't put a damper on things. They can be...kinda rough, I know.

You're much nicer than they are.

[But she feels as though it fits, somehow. Three in all. She of all people would know how significant the number three can be.]

Will they ever stop following me?

[ He exhales a laugh. ] Comes with the territory, maybe. I'm Greyling. Y'know, the Grey?

And as for Blackie and Blondie— [ His face goes apologetic again. ] —it sort of comes with their territory, too. Blackie, more than Blondie, though. Blondie just likes to tag along.

You know how it is, right? Hero worship.

Yes, I suppose I do, a bit. [Except that no, she really doesn't.] They're...I suppose they can't help their nature, any more than anyone can. But I still wish they wouldn't be so awful!

[She curls in on herself a little.]

It's not as though I go out of my way to try to meet them.

[ This is what Greyling does. He tries to keep some semblance of peace and understanding between the world of man and the way of the Dogs. Unfortunately, it generally doesn't go over very well, though he appreciates the princess' efforts. ]

What can I say? He likes you. I don't really think he can help it, to be honest.

[She is, perhaps, sulking a bit, which is something she never does. That she's letting herself now is a testament to just how rattled she is.]

It's an awful way of showing it. And I know he might not be so bad--my friends have met ones like him and they always say such wonderful things, how kind and understanding and--and I really would, I'd try not to find him so frightful if he'd just stop being so awful about it!

[ His expression softens, wishing here was a way he could possibly cheer her up. Where he paws and fur, he'd come and lay his shaggy head in her lap and snuffle at her hands — a surefire way to cheer up any princess. But for now, he only has this face with its exasperated smile. ]

He's a Dog. And his masters, well. They haven't been the nicest guys and gals, you know? We are what people make us out to be. That's how it works— how we work. [ Greyling shrugs. ] And not a lot of people wanna be friends with Death.

But he's a good Dog. I promise. I know that doesn't make him stop what he's doing but it is what it is, I guess.

I've heard he's kind. Death. People I know have met him and said so, but he's never been kind to me.

[She averts her eyes a little, hair curling in wisps around her face.]

Is he really good? Not just a good dog, but...good?

[ Greyling laughs. ]

He's my big brother, Rosella. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't kinda biased.

Biased or not, you'd know if he wasn't.

[But something he said earlier comes back to her, and she ponders it slowly.]

What did you mean, that you are what people make you to be? Do you mean that if I were less afraid...they'd all be less fearsome?

Maybe not Blondie. I mean, she's my sister and all and I love her, but she's an actual bitch — no pun intended. [ His smile grows rueful, then maybe, a bit hopeful. ] But us Dogs, we're the manifest of what people believe our embodiments are. Death, the Hunt, Loyalty. For me and Blondie, it's pretty obvious a lot of the time.

But for Blackie— well. He's a little less cut and dry. [ A beat. ] He'll never be sweet. He'll never put away his claws entirely. But he's been known to be his own kind of gentle, sometimes.

[ Another light shrug. ] Love does that. I know it does.

Oh, I see. You're...and that's why you're here, isn't it? And why you can apologize for them, because that's...oh. I do see.

[Her lip catches in her teeth and she bites at it, absentmindedly.]

All the times I slipped away from him...all but one, I was afraid, because someone else was counting on me to survive, and if I couldn't get away, then it'd be more than just me who'd be lost by it. All but the once. When I went to the dragon...I think that must be when he first met me. And I was ready for him, then, but my brother saved me first.

[ Greyling exhales. A somewhat sigh. ]

The one that got away. Oh, Blackie.

I wouldn't think he'd like me so, for something like that. Was I...was I meant to die then, on that day, and that's why he won't leave me alone now?

Maybe. It's not for me to say. Only he knows for sure. [ A shrug. ] Maybe you were meant to come close and not die. Maybe that was enough to get his attention. Not a lot people are repeat customers, if you know what I mean.

[That almost gets a smile out of her. Or perhaps it does--faint, but there, the slightest touch at the corners of her lips.]

No, I suppose that's true. My family seems to have a knack for it, though. Getting in and out of trouble.

[She looks up at him through her lashes.]

You're a good dog, too, Greyling. Is--is that all right to say? I don't catch myself complimenting many dogs, but the ones I've met seem to take that as one well enough.

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Apologising again? [A soft smile to her mouth, and that at least is familiar despite all the time since they last saw each other.] What is it they've done this time?

[ Despite time and distance and circumstance, a Dog will always recognize the call of a master's voice. A smile spreads across Greyling's face. The first word that comes to mind is 'puppyish'. He cannot help but dip his head, obedient and humbled by her presence even now. ]

Dogs will be dogs, Sanura, [ he says, quietly. ]

[There is some pain, to see him react to her voice the same as he always would, but her smile doesn't falter. She does not consider herself his master anymore. It hadn't been safe; she had released him from his bonds to keep him from the seer and her poison. But now Kepi is gone, and she still stands.]

Change comes to us all, Sa-- Greyling. [A small dip of her head, acknowledging the slip even as she moves past it.] Even your siblings and yourself, I believe.

[ Over the years and decades and centuries and millenia, the Grey Dog has died and died again in service of his masters. That is what the Grey Dog does; it is his function. There is no other. And during all this time, there has been no exception to this rule. None except Sanura.

It makes her singular in his memory and, just as it may be for her, the recollection of it is painful but also precious. She may never ask him to die for her, but he still would even now. ]

Am I so different? [ he asks, earnestly. ] I'd like to think I'm the same creature I was. You know, back then. When we last saw one another.

The same creature, I am sure. [His honest earnestness had always made her smile, makes her want to reach and touch his face as she used to. But he is the same as he was, and she is not; there is blood on her hands now, she cannot offer them to anyone so freely.]

But have you not travelled since then? Met new people? [A slight hesitation, as if she does not truly want to hear the answer, but still she asks,] Found yourself another master?

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