TRIGGER WARNING!
This content might touch on topics that are sensitive or triggering for some readers. Trigger Warning for mentions of [mild cannibal reference, future murder talk]


The Executioner stood not adorned with a crown, but that did not strip her of her sense of belonging. Her marriage to Velasco was a bond stitched together by fate, inked with conviction and sealed with the weight of promises shared. The titles of Jisazith and Baudelaire had slipped from her grasp like fleeting whispers, and now, with a heart both heavy and resolute, she had embraced her new identity as X'uekai. It wasn’t the union with Dieudonné she had once dreamt of, but deep within, a flicker of hope ignited; perhaps her children could one day weave their fate with those of the prestigious Dieudonné.

With a heart full of tumultuous emotions, she departed the familiar Vermeda territory with a familiar type of heart in her mouth, wandering toward the west side of the Grove, driven by an urgent need for connection. When she reached the borders of Wolfbron, she paused, the weight of her thoughts wrapping around her like her own tail, grounding her in the moment. A solitary glance from her singular eye cast upon the horizon, she summoned the winds for a call, yearning only for @Louve. The Matriarch held the wisdom she desperately sought—an ear for her turmoil, a heart to share the burdens she carried about the seismic shifts in her life, the anguishing disappearance of Avril amidst the chaos of war, and the relentless tide of everything that weighed upon her soul.

table code by daanyen

with all that had happened louve was not sure she'd see the woman again. @Miaran had fallen from grace, and so many in amaryllis' past were wont to disappear after such a thing. it had seemed the executioner had made more than a few mistakes in her rise to power, namely speaking against such a significant chunk of the population. those with extreme beliefs were so often targeted -- perhaps louve's greatest lesson would be of sneakiness.

despite all of her own reservations she does not hesitate to answer the summons, drawn by curiosity as much as the undeniable bond she had always felt with the woman. cut from the same cloth, with more in common than she could claim to have with most, louve would not deny the appeal in trying to maintain their... friendship.

"miaran," a quiet greeting as she appears, gaze flicking over the woman before slipping briefly to the gift she had brought, then back to her face. waiting for her to begin, to guide their conversation and determine the direction of their future.

CODE•ART•BG

The Executioner stood, heart pounding in anticipation, until the silhouette of the Matriarch emerged before her, a sight both familiar and haunting. With a subtle tremor, she nudged the carefully chosen gift toward the other woman, her tail tip tapping a rhythm of unspoken emotions that hung thickly in the air between them. A heavy silence enveloped them, thick enough to drown their thoughts, until Miaran's voice sliced through it like a knife. @Louve, je suis porteur d'une nouvelle très importante. Je ne suis plus à Caladan. Ceux qui ont fait de Caladan mon foyer - ma sœur, ma nièce bien-aimée - ont été arrachés à mon étreinte et entraînés dans les Creux Maudits. J'ai trouvé un nouveau refuge à Vermeda, lié par les vœux du mariage à Velasco, le fils d'Icefang. Louve, I'm the bearer of very important news. I am no longer in Caladan. Those who made Caladan my home - my sister, my beloved niece - have been torn from my embrace and dragged into the Cursed Hollows. I've found a new refuge in Vermeda, bound by marriage vows to Velasco, Icefang's son.

A heavy silence hung in the air as she continued to rhythmically tap her tail, her torn ear drooping with an unspoken heaviness as she resumed speaking, her voice laced with anguish and determination. Je sais que vous méprisez mon alliance avec Luther, mais comprenez ceci : avec n'importe quel roi, je les manie comme des armes - seulement pour les utiliser et finalement les jeter. Mon cercle d'alliés s'amenuise, Louve. Alexandre a déclaré la guerre à Caladan, et je sens la réalité glaçante s'installer : cette guerre est vraiment contre moi. J'ai vu les ombres de ses partisans durant mon défi, tapies comme des spectres. Manon était aux prises avec l'ancien noble que j'avais chassé de Caladan il y a quelques mois. I know you despise my alliance with Luther, but understand this: with any king, I wield them like weapons - only to use them and ultimately discard them. My circle of allies is shrinking, Louve. Alexander has declared war on Caladan, and I feel the chilling reality setting in: this war is really against me. I saw the shadows of his followers during my challenge, lurking like spectres. Manon was battling with the former nobleman I had driven out of Caladan a few months ago.

Miaran would take her time; her patience was a lethal weapon woven into the very fabric of her being. She would become a ghost, haunting the corridors of their thoughts, intertwining with their lives, before she ultimately stripped them of everything they held dear. Miaran paused, letting the weight of her words settle like stones in the pit of her stomach. Her patience was a finely honed weapon, a quiet ferocity that made her all the more formidable.

table code by daanyen

if you complain once more

The call wasn't for her but the voice wasn't one that she would allow Louve to be alone with. There was a lot of mistrust lingering in Elaine's mind and she was the kind to let it fester. The Sovereign moved into the shadows that the rocky land gave her, she listened carefully and shook her head. She wouldn't say anything for the moment, allowing her sister to handle things. What would Louve do when pressed about a war with Alex? Their families had been able to find a level of peace and that was something that Elaine wasn't keen on upsetting. She almost laughed at the mention of using Luther. This female had no idea what she was getting herself into. Elaine wouldn't be able to stand with anyone allied with Luther and she hoped her sister would feel the same.

you'll meet an army of me

code x art x inspo

The lines were blurred, muddled, and Louve stood facing a decision she knew would carry weight for more than only herself. Elaine was near, she knew, and was quietly thankful for her sister's unwavering presence. Her attention remains solely on Miaran, though, listening carefully to what she has to say.

"volé? par les creux ?" stolen? by the hollows? Clarifying, here, and perhaps buying herself a little time to sort through her thoughts. "Je pourrai peut-être t'aider, Miaran, mais je dois faire preuve de prudence. Vous avez fait beaucoup de bruit..." I might be able to help you, Miaran, but I must tred carefully. You created quite a stir... The fact that she was binding herself to Velasco didn't much matter to Louve, though perhaps in some way it might solidify her own alliance between the Brook and the Bluffs. If her and Icefang could ever come to trust eachother.

"Ces terres regorgent de morts, Miaran. Ils marchent parmi nous, que vous le vouliez ou non. Et il y en a qui sont capables de dépasser ce voile." These lands are rife with the dead, Miaran. They walk among us whether you wish to believe it or not. And there are some that are capable of reaching past that veil. A pause, here, as she watches Miaran for her response, curious just how deep that hatred went. Listening as she speaks of the war, of the target on her back. "Je crois que les morts devraient rester morts, j'ai vu comment l'au-delà peut les changer... Mais nombreux sont ceux qui ne partagent pas les mêmes opinions. Je vous conseillerais de pratiquer plus de subtilité avec vos croyances, sinon vous constaterez que cet objectif est permanent, peu importe où vous vivez." I believe the dead should stay dead, I have seen how the afterlife can change them... But there are many who do not hold the same opinions. I would advise you practice more subtlety with your beliefs, or you will find that target permanent no matter where you live.

Whether or not @Miaran would take heed of Louve's advice was another question, but at least she had to try. At least if she was going to stand by the woman in any sense she would not do so if the Bluffs would pay for it. If her family would pay for it. And certainly she thinks of Lazare, and wonders if Miaran would put an end to the Dieudonne daughter if she knew the truth of it...

CODE•ART•BG

Miaran’s mind echoed with a depth of emotion as @Louve spoke intently, just as she always had, drawing strength from the wisdom offered about these bewildering lands. A heavy sigh escaped Miaran's lips after Louve posed her question, and with a slow, deliberate nod, she revealed the truth. Oui, Avril et Khadija ont été volées. La couronne de Caladan ne m'est plus d'aucune utilité, mais je vous conjure de ne pas forger d'alliance avec les souverains qui y habitent. Khadija a plus de droits sur les sables de Caladan que les parasites qui s'y sont glissés alors que j'étais affaibli par les ravages de la guerre, Yes, Avril and Khadija have been stolen. The crown of Caladan is no longer of any use to me, but I beseech you not to forge alliances with the rulers who dwell there. Khadija has more right to the sands of Caladan than the parasites who crept in when I was weakened by the ravages of war, she declared, her voice tinged with fierce conviction.

The sorrowful whispers of the dead lingered in the air, shadows of those who had once lived. Miaran had witnessed it all firsthand—the rise of the undead, the mournful ghosts, and the grotesque abominations that called out to the living. As she listened, her ear perked in attention, contemplating her words carefully, before finally speaking with a steely resolve, Les morts ne doivent pas être dérangés dans leur sommeil. Nier la mort, c'est trahir le caractère sacré de la vie elle-même ; précipiter les morts dans le chaos de l'existence est une profonde injustice. The dead must not be disturbed in their sleep. To deny death is to betray the sanctity of life itself; to precipitate the dead into the chaos of existence is a profound injustice.

After a moment’s heavy pause, she added passionately, Les défunts méritent leur paix, incontestée et intouchable. Je chasse dans un but précis, Louve. Certains ont cherché à entraîner les morts dans un royaume qui ne les concerne plus. Je ne vise pas les innocents, je m'oppose à ceux qui se sont rendus coupables de transgressions. Morrigan a réveillé les morts-vivants après que Luther soit tombé sous ses crocs, et Hero a invoqué les morts après que j'ai tué Reti. Les deux victimes ont cherché à se venger de leurs vies perdues, et je l'ai vu se dérouler sous mes yeux. S'ils ne peuvent pas accepter leur destin, ils n'ont pas le droit de s'en approcher précipitamment. The dead deserve their peace, uncontested and untouchable. I hunt for a purpose, She-wolf. Some have sought to drag the dead into a realm that no longer concerns them. I do not target the innocent, but those guilty of transgressions. Morrigan awakened the undead after Luther fell under her fangs, and Hero summoned the dead after I killed Reti. Both victims sought revenge for their lost lives, and I watched it unfold before my eyes. If they can't accept their fate, they have no right to approach it in haste.

A slight frown creased her lips, aware of Louve's discomfort with her fragile camaraderie toward Luther. Yet, bound as Miaran was to the X'uekai, she remained resolute, unable to bind herself to the Dieudonné, for her heart yearned for the female body. As long as Velasco remained truthful and avoided the treachery that Aphrodite had done in their marriage, she could find it within herself to forbear from seeking his life.

table code by daanyen

Louve listens but does not jump to make any promises. While she does not know the new rulers of Caladan she would be fool to name them an immediate enemy, no matter how disappointed she was that Miaran had lost her crown. Things changed too quickly in Amaryllis, and the new rulers may end up leading for a much longer time than her dear friend -- Louve knew well that she may yet need to seek them out and learn what she can about the new King and Queen.

"Pourtant, il y a des morts qui cherchent à revenir – j’imagine qu’il ne serait pas facile de les refuser si un passage était trouvé." yet there are the dead that seek out their return -- i imagine it would not be easy to deny them should a passage be found. Louve speaks more as if she is thinking out loud, humming over the ways that the deceased found their way back to the land of the living. If she had the same skills as her daughter? Would she be able to deny them?

As for the other matter of interest... "Icefang a déclaré que nous étions alliés, mais je ne peux pas dire que je leur fais entièrement confiance. Cassius s'est engagé auprès de ma fille mais..." Icefang has said we are allied, but I cannot say I trust them completely. Cassius has pledged himself to my daughter but... here she paused, hesitant to continue, unsure if even Miaran could be trusted completely. "J'ai peur qu'ils soient plus liés aux Rike qu'ils ne le laissent entendre, et les Rike verraient ma famille morte et enterrée s'ils n'en voulaient qu'à eux. Je demande..." i am afraid they are more bound to the Rike than they let on, and the Rike would see my family dead and buried if they had their way. I ask... Another pause, watching Miaran closely, hoping the bonds they had forged were strong enough to hold through this favour. "Je te demande de surveiller mes arrières quand je ne peux pas, Miaran. S'ils cherchent à me trahir... I ask that you watch my back when I cannot, Miaran. If they seek to betray me...

Was it too much? Was she crossing a line? Or would their shared sisterhood be enough to place her trust in the other woman?

@Miaran

CODE•ART•BG

The uncertainty that lingered over the idea of blindly following the X'uekai Matriarch weighed heavily in the air, trembling like a fragile thread. Even @Louve, with all her strength and fervor, would need to prove her worth to the Executioner. La lionne rose, incarnation même du défi, qui était là lorsque j'ai revendiqué Caladan, celle que j'ai brisée lorsqu'elle a osé s'approcher de mon trône, était présente lorsque ce garçon m'a affronté, encore sous le coup des blessures de la guerre. Elle était alliée à Morrigan et à Aphrodite, The pink lioness, the very embodiment of defiance, who was there when I claimed Caladan, the one I broke when she dared to approach my throne, was present when this boy confronted me, still reeling from the wounds of war. She was allied with Morrigan and Aphrodite, her voice was free from malice, yet it rang with a clear warning: the current leaders of Caladan were no allies in disguise.

As she listened, her tongue softly traced her lips, absorbing the palpable tension that spoke of Vermeda’s inclination towards the Rike and the impending threat they posed to the Dieudonné family. Miaran remained uncharacteristically silent, a reflection of the gravity of the moment. When Cassius was mentioned, bound to one of the daughters, she merely arched a brow in intrigue. From what she understood, the X'uekai did not adhere to the constraints of monogamy. An uneasy silence lingered, stretching taut as a favor was requested, and finally, she broke the stillness with undeniable clarity: Tu me demandes de veiller sur tes arrières, mais j'ai besoin que tu me promettes de veiller sur les miens. You ask me to watch your back, but I need you to promise to watch mine. The words were not merely spoken; they were a passionate plea for solidarity amidst the chaos that loomed.

table code by daanyen

there is a sudden tiredness that sweeps over her as she listens to Miaran. not for any ill reason towards her friend, but for the weight of politics. the game she had never mastered. the rules that she never quite understood. try her best louve did not have the knack for it, and now found herself stretched between two. so, rather than continue that conversation she hums a noise of understanding, allowing the topic to shift to more personal alliances rather than the tangled web of amaryllis.

Miaran asks for support, for a pledge to have her back, and there is no way that Louve could deny her. not when she has asked for the same. "I promise," she says the words solemnly, meeting the executioner's gaze with an unflinching steadiness. "I will do everything I can to keep you safe, @Miaran, as long as it does not put my family or pride at risk." perhaps that meant a conversation with those that misunderstood her, even, though louve doubted she could shift the tides.

"but please," a paw reaches, aiming to press lightly against the other woman's, "mind your tongue in certain company. do not make the target any bigger, oui?"

* all in french, im just being lazy xD

CODE•ART•BG

A soft, tantalizing brush of her tongue against her lips, Miaran's singular eye flitted toward @Elaine, a fleeting moment of connection before returning to @Louve. In that charged silence, her thoughts raced, weaving through the tension that hung palpably in the air, even as she felt the comforting warmth of Louve's paw against her own. S'il vous plaît, she implored in a whisper, ne pas s'allier avec Obsidian ou Caladan. Please, do not ally with Obsidian or Caladan. It was a monumental request, an aching plea born from the depths of her heart. Louve understood the gravity of her words, the storm that loomed on the horizon, knowing that Alexander had called for Miaran’s head and declared the drums of war. Miaran shifted uneasily, her spirit a tumultuous sea of uncertainty, the weight of impending doom pressing down upon her as she clung desperately to hope.

table code by daanyen