Private Tales New Places, New Faces

[Kir]

The city grew in front of them. A pinprick becoming little less than a giant as the beast flew closer and closer.

A long breath drew into his lungs, head shaking. "No!"

He called out over the sound of rushing wind. It was a cacophony of chaos that he could hardly understand her words over. There was not a chance in this world that he would let her go to the Palace without him, even if it meant attending in ill-fitting clothes.

"It's fine!" He told her. "Get us to the palace on this damn...'

Kir glanced at the creature. "Thing!"

He still didn't know what to make of Bucky. If only because of his own nerves.

 

[Neveah]

Head shook, a wild grin on her face. Bucky's tail flicked up and would smack against Kir's back. The gryph may have had its own leonine smirk spreading along its maw as it circled and lifted its wings, coming to a smooth landing on all four paws within the grounds of the palace's massive garden and green space. There were babbling fountains, hedges, flowers, rose bushes, a hedge maze, and expansive lawns.

Hard to believe they were in the middle of the city.

"You can get down now. Feel free to resign and look for some easier guard-duty work." Neveah wouldn't wait for him and would slip easily down off the mount, giving Bucky a good chin rub.

 

[Kir]

Kir hopped off the creatures back, giving it a quick glance with a shake of his head. I could eat you for a fucking snack.

The Werebear thought to himself bitterly, but decided it was probably best to keep that to himself.

Neveah would likely have objected to the decision. "Resign?"

He asked, lips spreading out into a smile.

"Whatever do you mean?" Kir said as innocently as possible. This job might have been a pain in the ass, and he might have spent a day and a half walking around naked, but he was getting paid well. That was really what mattered at the end of the day. "I'm pretty sure I'm about to get a promotion."

Then he pointed his finger between two of the large fountains.

"YOU BROUGHT HER HOME! OH OUR DARLING GIRL! SHE'S ALIVE!"​

Shouts echoed out, loud enough to wake sleeping birds as the Queen raced towards Neveah.

 

[Neveah]

Neveah blanched as she heard her mother’s voice. Before she could even move she was wrapped up in a crushing hug that could probably rival Kir’s. Even though the woman was shorter than Neveah.

Eyes shifted to Kit and for the first time a pleading look crossed her face to the mercenary. Her father was close behind, a frown on her face at the gryph now in the palace gardens.

“Mother. I’m okay.” Her eyes flickered to her father’s face. “Why didn’t you tell me about hiring a bodyguard?” Neveah managed to slip free from her mother’s grasp.

 

[Kir]

The moment Neveah slipped from her mothers grasp the woman took a step forward and once again wrapped her arms around her. It was like an insect trying to get away from a Fly Trap. One tendril was gotten rid of, but two more quickly snapped outward.

Kirov was strangely impressed.

The Queen had the reaction speed of a Tyrian card player, not allowing her daughter to get out of the embrace without significant effort. She pulled the girl in close, holding her tightly against her chest as she gave the answer Neveah sought.

"It was your fathers idea."​

That was a lie, Kir was pretty sure. It had been the Queen who hired him.

"We wanted to keep you safe, and well...we just thought it would be easier if no one knew. You know how these things are."​

Kir raised an eyebrow, but continued to stay silent.

Now was hardly the time for his input.

 

[Neveah]

She grumbled as she was squished against the smaller woman again. A glare in Kir’s direction as she caught the look on his face.

This wasn’t funny.

Nev channeled to him silently.

“No, ughMoooom,” Neveah managed to twist free again. “I’m okay. And I don’t need a body guard.” Arms crossed beneath her chest defensively.

“Can you tell me why a gryph is in my courtyard?” Her father’s voice boomed. They didn’t know she was a gryph rider…

SHIT

“Um,” Neveah hedged. Then deflected. “We have a bigger problem. The Skorpious are on the move in the canyon and spreading their territory.”

 

[Kir]

The king seemed aghast for a moment, then looked to Kirov. Despite being a monarch, one of the soft nobility the King had a profound strength to him. His gaze was almost a match for some of the Duma back home, though perhaps not quite as cold iron.

"Is this true?"

Kir frowned for a moment, but then nodded his head. "Aye. I cannot speak to their encroachment."

He had not been here long enough to know how far they had come, nor the progress that the creatures had made. Yet Kir had been close enough to speak of the creatures veracity. There was no doubt that they were closing in, and slowly spreading their own influence. Even he could see that much.

"I would send scouts." He said, glancing towards Neveah. "It might be best to watch them more…permanently."

Kir wasn't a general of any sort, but he'd spent his due in the military.

"And how exactly…did you come to find this out?"

He glanced towards Neveah, but didn't offer any additional comment. She would have to speak for herself, on this matter. She was just the bodyguard.

 

[Neveah]

"The Hearth-Mother of the Southeastern tribes told us," she lied easily and smoothly. Plus. It wasn't that far from the truth so it was easier. "They lost a good rider yesterday in the group that went and saw what was happening."

Neveah shifted on her feet even as Bucky nudged his large whiskered nose into her shoulder.

A sad growl leaving his throat.

The princess gripped her hands tightly behind her back, trying to keep from thinking about what happened. Her friend and his gryph's death. The trap. How she wasn't able to help them just like she hadn't been able to help her sister. "And don't think this gets you two out of anything. I do not agree to this!" Thumb hooked back over her shoulder to Kir. "Are we done here?"

It was easier to reach for anger to help push sadness away.

 

[Kir]

Kir stood quietly in place as the Princess and her parents had their discussion.

A brief moment passed where he wondered if this was all going to go down hill, if things were going to explode outward. Neveah had a strong streak running through it, some might have called it stubbornness but it was a quality most Neusian's appreciated.

Mostly because it kept people alive.

"No."​

The King's tone was fierce, strong, and it was instantly recognizable where Neveah got that streak from in the first place. A hard look was shot towards Kirov, the King staring the man down for a brief moment as he considered.

Kir simply kept his face mask, calm. The ill-fitting clothes he had been given clearly marking out that something more had happened.

A lie was all well and good, but it was clear there was something more.

"See my daughter to her rooms."​

The command was not direct at Kirov of course, but some of the Royal Guard flanking both the King and Queen.

 

[Neveah]

"Father," arms crossed stiffly beneath her chest. "No," she put her foot down even against the king. Because the king was still her father. And because she got her strong will from him. And perhaps a different kind of strength from her mother.

"I want to be part of the scouts. I want to see what's going on. You just saw me. I can ride."

She didn't offer further explanation of why she could ride.

"I'll be safe with Kir." Even as the guards stepped forward on either side of her. Bucky growled lowly in his throat. Tail flicking. Neveah watched them closely and tipped her weight to the balls of her feet. Readying herself for them. In case her father didn't see reason.

 

[Kir]

Kirov could practically feel the tension in the air.

The King wasn't budging, not an ounce. The Neusian could see it in the man's face before he ever said a word. In truth, Kir couldn't eve blame him for his stance. He was no fool, he knew what had happened to Neveah's sister.

Everyone in the city knew.

"Oh I'm glad you agree. Because you will be safe. With him standing right outside your door."​

Kir let out a long sight. He had known he would be thrown into the middle of this hat some point. The weight had practically been tumbling towards his shoulders from the outside.

A father was trying to protect his daughter, and no one could really blame him for that. No one except for Neveah apparently.

"We can discuss things after scouts have returned."​

It was an olive branch, if a small one. Kir frowned, leaning in just slightly to Neveah. "Learn when to negotiate."

He whispered quietly.

 

[Neveah]

"Father," Neveah pleaded even as the guards closed in. Bucky growled. She could see it on the King's face though that there was no room for negotiation. At least not now.

"Fine." she ground out. "After they return and no later."

A half glare up to Kir in a don't tell me what to do expression. And more so a you're not helping expression. Turning, she gave Bucky a pat and another chin scratch. "Go to the stables," she whispered. "I'll come visit you in a bit." The giant gryph purred and furrowed his wings, his tail not twitching quite as much. He still gave Kir a look like he wanted to eat him.

With a huff, she stormed from the courtyard and into the palace corridors, making her way toward her rooms. She was not going to let the guards actually drag her away and let them try to keep up as she quickened her pace.

 

[Kir]

Kir stared back at the Gryph for a moment, his face entirely impassive as he considered the creature. You'd make a decent snack.

The Werebear thought, as if the creature could actually understand him.

By the time he had the silent conversation, Neveah had already begun to stalk off towards her room. He was left standing there, the King and his Wife staring at him. He blinked for a brief moment, looking at the Monarch's implacable features.

His throat then clear.

"I'll see she's...safe." Kir said, deciding that it would probably be best not to stick around the King before the man redirected his anger and decided that Kir was at fault for all this after all. Quickly he rushed to catch up with Neveah.

"Good negotiating." He complimented. "You might even get to go outside the Palace grounds again."

 

[Neveah]

Another glare up at Kir. A quiet huff in the back of her throat. Tension rippling along her shoulders.

"You look ridiculous. Go find clothes that actually fit." Yanking open the handle to her room, she'd attempt to slip inside and slam the door in Kir and the guards faces.

And lock it.

 

[Kir]

Kir didn't put his foot in the door.

The clothing that the tribals had given him were not bad, but the shoes were...well they weren't hard leather and he had no intention of letting the Princess break his foot. Not now when he was pretty sure she was going to do something stupid.

A sigh escaped him, and he turned away from the door. After a few seconds he found a Maid walking along the halls. "Excuse me, could you tell me where the nearest balcony is?"

He paused for a second.

"Oh and...is there a runner I can get ahold of?" Kir smiled. "I need someone to get something for me."

 

[Neveah]

Neveah wasted no time. She was still dressed in her leathers and trekking boots. Squatting next to her bed, she pulled out her pack that was already filled with a canteen of water, dried foods, and bread. Next, she walked to her dresser and grabbed her knife, clipping it to her belt.

Hands made quick work of stripping the sheets from her bed as she began tying them off into a long rope. Closing the short distance to her balcony, she slung the doors open and then threw out the tied-off sheets. Her balcony was a few stories above the hedge-maze.

Once she dropped down, she'd be able to circle back to the stables.

There was a knock at the door from the maid.

"Princess, would you like some tea?"

"Nope, I'm good," Neveah called as she tested her anchor on the sheets.

 

[Kir]

Kir was eventually met with a runner whom he told the location of his Inn to and where he could find his additional armor.

The boy nodded eagerly, and then quickly headed off to do as he was told. After that he took the maids advice on where to go, and the key that he had taken from her. A few moments later he found himself walking through a very fancy bedroom.

"Ah royals." He said with a shake of his head. "Really know how to live."

Then slowly he made his way towards the doors at the end of the suite.

There he waited, leaning against the wall and watching out the glass out of view. The sight before him; Neveah's balcony.

 

[Neveah]

Making sure she gave the tied off sheets multiple firm tugs and satisfied that it would hold her weight, she scooped up the bundle and carried it out of the balcony. Arms spread as she dropped it below. It cascaded down over the ledge but didn't quite reach the ground.

About a few feet off.

It would have to do. Disappearing back into her room, she dragged over a chair and wedged it beneath the locked doorknob for good measure. Shouldering on the pack, she took purposeful steps back out and wasted no time in straddling the balcony and gripping the sheets, began her descent downward.

Because the sheets were made from a finely traded silk, they were very comfortable when sleeping on them. But very slippery when using them as a rope. Neveah cursed quietly as she slipped a few inches, jamming her foot against her other ankle to keep from going all the way down.

 

[Kir]

Kir saw Neveah as she threw the blanket rope over the balcony and then began to descend herself.

His head slowly shook. "A little predictable."

The Werebear commented to himself as he waited for the Princess to crawl over the railing and begin to clamber down the side of the palace. After he was sure she couldn't see onto the balcony, Kir stepped out through the door.

He glanced down for a moment, searching for a safe spot to land, and then nodded to himself.

His muscles seemed to flex, his legs shifting, and then suddenly he bounded over the edge of the railing. Neveah would see a brief flicker of his form passing her by, and then with a thud he landed just below. The pavement cracked slightly where he came down, but Kir didn't seem to mind.

The Werebear turned his head up, waiting for Neveah to notice.

 

[Neveah]

The princess did see a flash of movement out of the corner of her eyes. She frowned as she heard the thud beneath her. A slip of her hands and feet on the rope and she was falling the last half dozen feet. Feet braced for impact on the ground even as she stuck her rear out to center her weight of gravity.

The problem was it wasn’t ground beneath her.

It was one nosy and pesky bodyguard giant.

Feet, legs, and rear incoming.

 

[Kir]

Kir caught Neveah in his arms.

He had been watching her as she shimmied down, entirely unsurprised as she tumbled down from the end of the makeshift rope. His arms stretched out, and then he braced himself as she quite literally tumbled into his embrace.

"Should have made a longer rope." His voice was entirely without emotion or judgment, just a comment. "You probably would have broken your tail bone."

As he spoke he turned on his heel, immediately heading towards the nearest door back into the palace. "Nasty injury that. Wouldn't sit for a month."

Least not properly.

 

[Neveah]

A grunt of exasperation left her mouth as she fell into his awaiting arms. "What is this, some goddessdamned romcom?" With a twist of her hips and a push of her hands off his shoulders, she'd squirm free from Kir's grasp, landing lightly on her feet.

A quick step back so he wouldn't be able to easily snatch her up again. At least as-easily. "Are you coming with me or are you going to make this escape rather difficult?" Her eyes were already looking around him to make sure no one else had noticed what happened and the guards weren't alerted.

 

[Kir]

"Well." He told her simply. "Considering your father is paying me and not you, I'm about to shout at the top of my lungs that the Princess is making a run for it."

Kir said simply. "So you can either break the deal you made with your father and lose every little bit of trust your parents have left in you."

He didn't mention that the moment she tried to run he would also tackle her to the ground and forcefully carry her away. She was fast, she could transform, but so could he. The Werebear might not have been as...versatile, but he could hunt like nothing.

"Or you can be smart." Kir told her.

"Get back inside, wait." Lips thinned. "And take the option where the knowledge you have might actually be useful, instead of throwing it away in a childish outburst."

 

[Neveah]

She really...disliked Kir. She knew he was only doing his job. So she knew she didn't dislike HIM exactly. More so the choices her father made that made her put up with him.

"YOU are childish," with that, she turned her back on him and marched back inside. It was clear she wouldn't get far right now. He'd alert the guards even if she got away. The snitch. So, she marched back up to her rooms much to the surprise of the guards. Pausing at her door, she took some tools from her pocket and knelt down.

She'd have to pick the lock to re-open it.

 

[Kir]

Kir walked along with Neveah, smiling at some of the guards they passed by. "The Princess wanted to take a look at the gardens."

He told them, knowing full well that each and every one of them would know it was complete and utter bullshit.

"Fresh air and all that!" Kir could have sworn that he heard some of them snicker behind their helmets, but he made no other comment. He was fully aware how ludicrous this whole thing was, more so how dangerous it was too.

Neveah was the heir, at least as far as he knew. She had to be looked after.

As he stepped behind her again, watching her pick the lock a long sigh escaped him. "Watching you is no, picnic, ya know."

Kir commented dryly.