Astrum: A World at War

[JVElEven]

"I have had those since I was 5 years old," Utsuho said. "So has all of my ancestors."

[Imp]

"I don't think they would notice if we left," To'Takka said calmly.

[Eltee]

JV

Fox flipped the couch back into position after a moment of concentrated effort.

"Okay, start from the top." She said, gesturing for Utsuho to sit.

Meanwhile, the Queen, exhausted from her efforts, was curled up on the opposite couch, sound asleep. Tendrils of green energy still floated through the air near her, though they were gradually fading.

- - -

Imp

Orna bit her lip for a moment, before nodding. "Okay, if that's what you want." She sighed.

[JVElEven]

"The top?" the Princess asked questioningly. "I'm not sure I..."

[Eltee]

"Since you were five years old..." Fox said weakly. "What do you mean?"

[JVElEven]

Utsuho turned around, still awkwardly holding up the front of her dress.

"When a daughter of a Queen, be it former or current, reaches the age of five, she is conferred with the mark of the Princess."

She let go of her dress with her left hand, grabbing hold of the tip of one of the wings.

"Which means conferring these onto them."

[Eltee]

"I just assumed that you were wearing them..." Fox murmured, shaking her head incredulously. "How can you sleep with those things..."

[JVElEven]

"On my stomach," Utusho said, "besides: They actually don't extend for very long into the back, and they bend. If it weren't because the wounds, unlike my sisters', never healed, I would be absolutely and completely capable of sleeping on my back as well."

To illustrate, she bent the left wing so it wrapped around her shoulder, even though she winced a bit.

"It feels a lot better than it used to do. What do they look like? The wounds?"

[Imp]

"Will we go back to Tarmargar the same way we came here?" he asked.

[Eltee]

Imp

"If you want to, Chieftain." Orna said deferentially.

- - -

JV

Fox felt the bases of the wings again.

"It's seamless." She said softly.

[Imp]

To Takka nodded, and simply went to exit the building.

[Eltee]

Orna, her steps less than half as long as his, scrambled after him in a half-run.

[JVElEven]

Eltee

Utsuho smiled faintly.

"At least it seems they might just grow to be scars now. If I'm lucky."

She turned to look at the Queen.

"I thank You, Your Majesty. Maybe now I can have a life. I will leave you now."

She looked back at the Mapö agent. "We'll see each other again. If you want to, I can enlighten you more on my culture. Proper culture, not the barbarian stuff they do here in Hagard."

She went to leave, looking tired and drained, but happy. In the doorway, she turned, and said slowly, before leaving:

"I... I think I would've done so too. Done as the girl."

[Eltee]

The Queen snored on, the last tendrils of green energy dissipating.

Fox, ran to the doorway, and took Utsuho's hands. "Wait!" she said, before realizing that she had no idea why she had stopped her. None she would admit to, at least.

"Ahh... You're still half naked. Sorry about that." She said, relieved to find an excuse. "You're about Nat's size, you can grab a shirt and some trousers from her dresser."

[JVElEven]

Utsuho nodded thankfully.

"Thank you," she said quietly, going to fetch something to wear.

A minute or two later, she left again, having had to rip a hole in the shirt she had borrowed to fit her wings into it.

"After things have calmed down a bit," she said to Fox, smiling slightly, "I want to take you to see some of our famous sights on the islands."

"Deal?"

[POMC S117]

Eltee

Utsuho smiled faintly.

"At least it seems they might just grow to be scars now. If I'm lucky."

She turned to look at the Queen.

"I thank You, Your Majesty. Maybe now I can have a life. I will leave you now."

She looked back at the Mapö agent. "We'll see each other again. If you want to, I can enlighten you more on my culture. Proper culture, not the barbarian stuff they do here in Hagard."

She went to leave, looking tired and drained, but happy. In the doorway, she turned, and said slowly, before leaving:

"I... I think I would've done so too. Done as the girl."

Spoiler:

Barbarian culture? Sprandriia's national sport is seeing how many people can you arrest for having a map in an hour. THe national mascot is Glarthir.

[JVElEven]

Spoiler:

The national sport... Nah... And culturally speaking, Sprandriia feels snugly superior. Legally speaking is not necessarily a factor they consider.

I prefer to instead imagine how Brogaah would react to his new wife having iron rods jammed into her shoulder muscles.

[Imp]

To'Takka actually began taking smaller steps for Orna, as they traveled to the docks.

[Eltee]

Imp

Orna ran full-on into To'Takka's big hairy rump when he slowed, and toppled onto her bottom, looking disoriented.

- - -

JV

Fox nodded wearily. "Deal," she said, tucking a few escaped tightly curled ringlets of black hair back into her ponytail. "I'm due to make my rounds of the countryside, in review of Sprandriian defences, anyway."

She grinned in her more usual, subduedly mischievous manner. "And even if I didn't have ulterior motives..."

Her almond-shaped brown eyes flashed with shallowly hidden meaning.

"I can hardly defy your royal prerogative. Princess Utsuho." She bowed. "Have a good night. Let any of my Mapo girls or the Sonas jackboot-amazons know if you experience any problems you think might be related to the ritual."

[JVElEven]

Utsuho bowed lightly.

"Will do," she said, before leaving the room.

[Imp]

"What's wrong, Orna?" To'Takka asked, helping her up.

[Eltee]

"Buh... Nothing! I'm fine!" Orna assured him dizzily, before furtively picking a hair out of her teeth.

Spoiler:

We're approaching the point of timeskip. Everyone let me know what they want to accomplish before we timeskip!

[JVElEven]

Spoiler:

I'm good.

[Imp]

Spoiler:

How far are we skipping?

[Eltee]

Spoiler:

We will be skipping SIX MONTHS into the future.

I will be PMing each player (or, heck, you can PM me) so we can come to a consensus on what has happened to your country over the past six months.

I am hoping that this will allow us to move past politics that are now archaic, with members leaving, and get a fresh start.

At my current count, we would have me, JV, Pomcey, Imp, and Deandra as the core group still going, and Frost and Shadow as a periphery who posts less, but also has less important nations. Mattie might also rejoin, but he's on the fence.

Basically, just tell me what developments have occurred in the six months that have passed. Deandra, you in particular can consolidate your nation a bit more, as it dramatically changed while you were RPing it. I will be changing the moniker of this RP to Astrum: Chapter I and creating a new thread. This will likely usher in a new surge of posts, and revitalize both the RP and some of the less active nations.