imperial_stage | Sometimes the direct approach is the best. [Semi-Open]

Sometimes the direct approach is the best. [Semi-Open]

Who: Taryn Shadow-Walker, Raisa, Nero, open to others in general thread (there will be two threads)
What: Taryn and Raisa drop into Rome to talk to Nero.
When: 3/4 (while Berserker is away)
Where: Rome - Palatine
Warnings: It's Rome... but none expected

Taryn and Raisa crossed into Rome without detection as they traveled not by waypoint, but by beastmen ways. Wolves and large cats were common animals in the Roman provinces, so entering Palatine wasn't difficult at all. Once inside, they headed to the villa the Rose Empress had, knowing she'd just returned from her visit to Britain.

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Clad in dark cloaks to hide their bestial features, Taryn and Raisa reach the front entrance of Nero's Villa. The seven foot tall werewolf stood out, even cloaked, with her large two-handed sword and an large crystalline hammer across her back, but she didn't care.

The slight scent of blood from the choice cut of venison Raisa had in a cured leather bag clung to them, but there was no aggression in their stance as they waited for the Roman Queen to respond to the man that ran to inform her about the unusual figures knocking on her door.

Next to Taryn, Raisa cut a much smaller figure. Much smaller--she was only a cat, after all.

It was hard to hear properly, under all this cloth; the hood of the cloak muffled many sounds and liked to press Raisa's ears down against her head. She didn't much like it, but she disliked torches and beorc pitchforks more, so on it stayed.

The laguz couldn't help fidgeting, though--at least a little. This was the first time she had been away from her forest on any kind of official business, and she was nervous. Just a little. But not afraid! Only...hopped up on more adrenaline than the situation would have warranted. There was no quarry to chase here or enemies to fight--only gifts to be made and words exchanged.

The scent of blood didn't help her nerves much.

To Nero's credit, she responded quickly enough to the summons. Say what you want about the woman, but she is possible of being professional. And in a situation like this - meeting the leader of a faction she had never interacted with - there was no room for error. With a confident stride she approached, and when she was close enough, she bowed in greeting.

"It is my honor to welcome you to my home, Lady Taryn." It's a bit of a difference between the loud, boastful woman Nero was most of the time, but she was capable of politeness! "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

...the Roman ruler was short. And if not for her sense of smell, Taryn might have mistaken Nero as the British Queen. The resemblance was uncanny, but the wolf betrayed nothing in her dark eyes. As she was greeted, Taryn reached up to remove her hood to reveal her wolfen features, giving Raisa the cue that she can take her hood down as well.

"Greetings, Rose Empress. I come to your home to discuss matters important to both Rome and Luna's Call. I decided a personal visit was more suited to you and your style of ruling than to waste time sending messages that might end up lost... or misunderstood. Forgive my forwardness, but if you are willing to spare time, we can feast on the fresh venison I bring and talk."

Taryn nudges Raisa so she can offer the bag with the venison in it to Nero. "This is Raisa - one of my younger members. She is here to observe and learn."

Raisa’s ears pricked at the sound of footsteps—different ones, this time. They had a different rhythm than the footman of just before. She was…not quite sure what to think, when the leader of Rome had come about. Raisa could not just look her in the eye, she could look down and still see the empress’ face.

For someone who had grown up around tigers and lions and beastmen otherwise taller than herself, this was pretty remarkable.

It was a good thing her eyes chose to reflect green eye-shine right this moment, or Raisa’s surprise would have been easily given away. At least she had stopped fidgeting and relaxed a little—all that confidence was infectious. The laguz followed after the Rhya in pulling back her hood, freeing her ears to stand up properly at attention.

She loosed the bag from her shoulder to offer it forth with both hands, bending at the waist in a shallow bow—she wasn’t quite used to this mode of address. Laguz greetings tended to be either more subtle, with tail and ear, or so obvious one couldn’t help but notice, like a good natured bludgeon to the shoulder. Though beorc had neither tail nor a fang-brother’s fortitude, Raisa could mimic quite well. It didn't seem terribly complicated.

But she couldn’t seem to find any words that she could trust, so the usually loquacious Raisa remained silent.

If Nero was surprised by her visitors' appearances, she certainly didn't show it. In fact, there wasn't even a raise of the eyebrow. It did explain the messenger's nervous attitude when he sought her out, but other than that, she didn't care much. ~~Except for the few good feet each of them had on her.~~

"Good food and a talk, you say?" A smile crossed the woman's face at that. "I would be a fool to pass up an offer such as that." With that, she called for another one of her men, instructing him to bring the fresh meat to the kitchen.

"Worry not. I employ only the finest cooks, so I assure you the quality of your gift will not be tarnished at all."

The fact that Nero didn't even bat an eye as the two beastmen revealed their features was a point in her favor. It spoke of her strength to control her emotions despite her reputation.

"I will trust they will see to the venison. Though a request for some to be a little rarer than most humans prefer would be appreciated." Taryn chuckled a little. "We also bring a pouch of medicinal herbs from Lerrian that do not grow well in the climate here."

She takes a pouch off her belt and holds it out. "None of these should be consumed raw, but I'm sure your healers will know that." Gifts were always a good thing to bring boisterous, potentially volatile rulers.

In some ways, laguz and beorc didn't seem so different. Some, particularly when gifts were involved. Raisa couldn't help speaking up briefly, however.

"The fungi need a lot of water, when boiled. More than you might think, or else they will upset the stomach for days."

...and give the user a really awful trip, but of course Raisa knew nothing about such unpleasantness. No sir.

Pebble-shelf was a perfectly wholesome--and easily identifiable--medicine otherwise, once prepared properly. But that little bit of trivia just stuck out in her mind for some strange reason.

Controlling her emotions? Bah. Anyone who's known Nero for more than a few hours knows that she doesn't really hide her true feelings. And that definitely was true for this meeting! She never had any real issues with the Beastmen. Honestly, anyone who can ruffle the Church's feathers like the Beasmen tend to do is welcome with open arms in her kingdom.

"I will see to it that the right people are passed on your messages." The smile never left her face as she turned, motioning for her guests to follow her.

"Come. The entranceway is no place to discuss important matters. Let us retreat to somewhere a bit more comfortable."

Taryn nodded and immediately followed Nero, glancing at the guards and other men as she went. Hopefully, they wouldn't be asked to disarm because the wolf wasn't about to let anyone else handle the crystalline hammer. It was tied to her, tied to her destiny, and no one else was worthy of it.

Besides, as long as Nero wasn't Corrupt, there was nothing to fear from her hammer.

Raisa's ears quirked a bit oddly but--ah, well. She followed after the Rhya with some of that infectious confidence in her steps, her tail finally uncurling from around her ankle to where the white tip could be seen, switching back and forth under the hem of her cloak.

The sight of the guards--and their weapons--bolstered Raisa's confidence still further, rather than intimidated her. Even though the laguz, in contrast, seemed to be entirely unarmed save for a knife with a blade little bigger than one of her fingers. A utilitarian one, at that--a tool, little more.

After a short walk they arrived in a large dining hall with great, vaulted ceilings. It definitely suited Nero's ego and her need to show off, though she didn't feel the need to ask her guests for their opinions. This isn't a purely social call, after all.

"So. Shall we get right down to business, or would you like to chat more first?"

"Business would be best," Taryn replied. "After that is taken care of, we can enjoy the venison." And she assumed Nero would enjoy drink. The wolf only drank water, though as long as she controlled herself, she wouldn't deny Raisa some alcohol though she doubted the cat would partake.

"There are three matters I wish to discuss.

As you know, I am the Rhya of Luna's Call, leader of the strongest and largest gathering of beastmen in Lerrian. To the south we border Britain and I've already had words with the Pendragon regarding these same matters. Now, you've recently expanded Rome westward, bringing Rome to the eastern border of Lerrian," Taryn explained while holding Nero's gaze directly.

"The first matter is, I want you to leave Lerrian alone. Do not expand further westward and try to claim my lands. I want nothing to do with human politics and Lerrian is in a location where it would give someone political advantage given its proximity to the directly controlled Imperial provinces."

Raisa couldn't help glancing up a bit--only a bit, no need to make a spectacle of herself like a beorc just seeing the trees in the deep woods. But the ceiling certainly was tall enough to give at least a few of those trees a run for their money. A hawk laguz at full stretch would certainly have no problems flying through the windows.

One of her ears reacted first, turning to follow Taryn's voice when she began speaking. Raisa returned to herself shortly and looked back at Nero. Her teal eyes were as much curious as they were challenge--that issue of human politics was a rather...sensitive one.

"Rest assured, Lady Taryn. While I do not deny that I am among those vying for power in the Emperor's eyes, I can assure you that Rome has no interest in conquering provinces already under the control of others." Nero said easily, smiling as she met first Taryn's eyes, then Raisa's. There's no hint of deception in her expression; and for someone as flamboyant and showoff-y as Nero, hiding any kind of emotion would probably be a bit difficult.

"And since you are now allies with my dear cousin, going against you would mean going against her as well. I would be a fool to do that."

"It's good to see the wisdom of the Pendragon is also seen in you," the wolf replied. "As you've agreed to not try to annex my land, I will extend you the courtesy of informing you should any other kingdom make an attempt to take Lerrian as their own so you can be properly aware of it."

It was only logical that anyone trying to take Lerrian would be a potential threat to Rome.

Raisa relaxed as the words filtered through her mind, only slightly visibly so. It certainly made her tail flick again, this time like a contented cat. Perhaps this beorc was more laguz-like than her fellows after all; none of this business of hiding thoughts behind a thoughtless mask, or keeping secrets.

At least it certainly didn't sound that way, which to Raisa's yet half-trained ear was enough. And the positive outcomes only sweetened her opinion of Rome still further.

Perhaps she would come back here at a later date, to learn more of this ruler.

[Anyone looking to interact with the two beastmen in Rome post-meeting with Nero is welcome to here. Both will be in dark cloaks to hide their features.]

Eleuseus didn't care for secret meetings but knew it was the way of politics and he trust the Empress would tell him anything he did need to know. The half-elf went about his daily routine when he noticed the robe figures.

"Good afternoon travelers," He bows informally, his voice cultured and polite. "I trust you are finding your way in Rome?"

Taryn paused and looked over at the man. She nodded. "Palatine is a city unlike any we've been to before. It is a good place to expose my companion here to a... freer kingdom than some of the others."

Raisa could at least speak this time--though no amount of social conditioning would ever make her less hilariously tiny next to Taryn. She inclined her head in a way that didn't crumple her ears further under the cloth.

"Greetings."

Pleasantries thus exchanged, curiosity took over. Ears a bit like a dragon laguz...but this fellow didn't feel like a laguz. Or quite like a beorc, though that was closest...perhaps a little, little bit like a Branded, but not quite that either.

It was strange, and Raisa could only hide so much of her interest.

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Sometimes the direct approach is the best. [Semi-Open]

The Villa

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General Rome thread.

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