Another buster knuckle bruise

Although it hadn't been his immediate thought to check in with Alaric, as he had walked towards Lorien to free his daughter the thought had come wandering idly in. He wouldn't have expected the swamp King to know something he himself hadn't until just now, and yet he figured if Orson's words were true and there was a posse of old and 'ass-holey' lions waiting to keep his plum daughter within their grasp, he may as well line up some backup.

@Alaric, he was sure, was old and very wrinkly by now. Yet, the scent of Ecrosia was now less of mud and more of lions. Lots of lions. Fair, he had enjoyed his time here until things went south, and Alaric seemed to have a way with both collection and creation. The time that had passed between them was not considered by Violarum, a friend was a friend, and he spares no thought to the potential the Mire King had drifted away from his loyalties.

So he wanders, loosely over the border to traipse along it's outer edges with a lazy chuff.

'Cause I'm a liquorlip loaded gun

_{— art by Rabs}

pull out the thorn from my side

Alaric had long ago lost hope of seeing him again. @Violarum had once been his closest friend and yet he had seen no sign of the man since he had fallen from power, only recently learning that his daughter was an inhabitant of the Mire. Of her own free will it seemed, despite it sounding like Vulferam had claimed her. It wasn't always a bad thing, after all. When he catches the too-familiar scent and realizes it's coming from within the Mire, he isn't worried. In fact he merely rolls his eyes and hastens his stride, intending to catch up with his old friend before somebody else found him trespassing. Barely trespassing, but still... There is only amusement in his voice when he approaches and says -- "you're across my borders, you know." And surprisingly he doesn't seem overly upset by it.

code // art // do not use without permission

Another buster knuckle bruise

He comes rather quickly all things considered. Violarum would like to imagine he scampered gleefully to meet him, and yet the thought of @Alaric and glee didn't quite line up. Still, it passes his mind that he is impressed by the man. The man who had been the first lion he set eyes upon when he arrived in Amaryllis as a fresh juvenile - just barely two.

He had ruled for a lot of those four years. Built a literal army from his loins, and from his loyalty. Here he stood, old and flabby, and yet not seeming as tired as he should be. Tired of bossing people about, of fighting for his women, of fussing over politics. Violarum was tired at merely the thought. Still, here they were again - as they had been many times before. Enough time had passed that it was no longer a mutual deal for benefit, but something of a bro-ship. As much as Alaric felt vaguely like the father figure he never had.

"Yes," he says matter of fact, crimson gaze peering into moss and mud as if expecting to see a line near-by - he'd never cared before, and he didn't care much now. Did Alaric? A pouty expression pinched at his masculine cheeks, adjusting himself to face the wheat King. "I came to see you," he did, but it held also a different urgency, "My daughter Anniston has been imprisoned in Lorien. The stupid purple guy chewed up her... 'boyfriend' Orson when he came for her. I'm going to get her back now."

And he shifted again, knowing there was stuff to talk about, and yet unwilling to leave his daughter longer than needed. "If I need you, you will come?" usually he would assume, and yet this time some sort of a question loiters at the tip of his tongue; caramel-lined ears tilted forwards.

'Cause I'm a liquorlip loaded gun

_{— art by Rabs}

alaric had always liked this about violarum -- he never wasted time. a simple man with simple needs, and for a man like the starke king who despised politics it was a breath of fresh air. straight to the point, and unsurprisingly bringing some new information about the plains.

the plains that he already did not trust entirely, no matter what 'trades' they had brought to his borders. no matter what tentative peace he had between here and lorien his friendship with @Violarum trumped that.

"i will always come." just as he expected violarum would always come to his aid, if it was needed.

he thinks for a second, and then adds -- "i believe another of your daughter's is here. her name is vera?" waiting to see if his suspicions were correct.

coding and art by dusk

Another buster knuckle bruise

He had expected the answer to be yes, and yet for whatever reason the clay man had sought @Alaric with a little more uncertainty than usual. Still, the confirmation came, and with it a reassurance than any doubts he held (however minor) were entirely unnecessary. An exhale, shallow and easy accompanies a swift, half-hearted nod - an unspoken thanks.

Though, Violarum is briefly distracted from his prior urgency; swiveling to face the Mire King in entirety. "Short and blue?" he asks, though he already knows the answer, "Oh." Why? he wonders briefly, and yet he already knows the answer to that too - Vera was every bit a girl. The girls he knew, anyway. Ambitious and always wanting more. Like her sister, she was raised a princess and thus a princess she would stay. By whatever means.

"What else?" the crimson-eyed male asks eventually, a very Vio-esque question with an incredibly general opening for Alaric to share more. Did Vera have a boyfriend here or something? Blegh.

'Cause I'm a liquorlip loaded gun

_{— art by Rabs}

@Violarum doesn't seem overly interested in the news that his daughter was here, though alaric wasn't sure what he expected. as children grew they forged their own paths, and while he thought of his often he trusted that the ones that had left had done so with good reason. he could not confine them to one place, and surely violarum felt the same.

"there isn't much else. she's friends with my son." that seemed oddly pertinent to add, though he carries on with a small shrug as if to dismiss that topic from carrying on.

he thinks for a second but determines there to be nothing terribly important to add, and so he merely asks "when will you make your move?"

coding and art by dusk

Another buster knuckle bruise

"Friends," he repeats, as if he was somehow trying to comfort himself Vera was only friends with @Alaric's son, or maybe just trying to pass the connection, the brief suggestion of disbelief - or maybe even dread. "Which one?" he asks then, ruby gaze like a simmering flame in their dark surroundings, supposing he ought to know who to keep an eye out for.

Though the King's request for timing returns Violarum to some degree of ease, shifting his weight in the damp earth, his chin teetering skyward as if to check the skies for a sign. "Now, I guess," he would shrug, really having nothing more to wait for.

'Cause I'm a liquorlip loaded gun

_{— art by Rabs}

it would be a favorable thing, in his mind, should their children become more than friends. a connection between their families that alaric would not be opposed to, considering his history with the frei. "vulferam," he answered, "pitch black, can't really mistake him..." a complete opposite to alaric's appearance, really, but he had long given up on the idea of his children looking too much like him -- genetics were strange.

"then i shall be there," he responded, easily, keen to watch what would come of violarum now that he had returned. if things went sideways it was clear where his loyalty lay.

@Violarum

coding and art by dusk

Another buster knuckle bruise

Vulferam. He stores the name away for later, flicking an ear as if to turn the key, ruby vision blinking the thought of an ebony likeness to Erna within his mind. There was plenty the pair were perhaps a little behind on when it came to one another's lives, and yet they had never had the kind of relationship in which they felt they needed to share.

So the meeting is easy, a soft knowing shifting between them as a rustle of wind stirred the sparse canopies, turning Violarums chin momentarily skyward. "Bye, for now," and a nod would accompany his casual departure, relieved to know if things went south that he would have the support of an old friend.

--- exit

@Alaric

'Cause I'm a liquorlip loaded gun

_{— art by Rabs}

it had always been this way between them. short, simple, to the point. it was one of the things he valued most about violarum. alaric hated nothing more than jumping through the hoops of politics, but with his old friend he did not feel the need to put on a mask and play pretend.

"good luck," he offers by way of farewell, watching the brute leave before he turned back towards the mire. alaric would spread the word and listen carefully for the call, ensuring he was ready to support the frei when the moment came.

-exit-

coding and art by dusk