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Post by Father on Mar 16, 2020 16:34:07 GMT 1
"My, my, what have we here?" A young woman clad in black and gold, the patterns on her gown and matching mask reminiscent of the Kraken of House Greyjon, worth a small fortune, it's cut deep and clings tightly at the bodice and over the hips to do nothing to conceal her very enviable assets. "Are you here as a dragon, perhaps, toying with mere mortals? Or as a bastard, reveling in wicked sin?" That Laena's mask is not everything it was advertised to be seems quite clear from the tone of her voice, one that Laena cannot immediately place, familiar though as it is, but all ladies having grown up at Highgarden tends to sound much the same. "If there are a more interesting creature in these halls, I would be at a loss to name it, do let us dance, you and I, let us bask in their stares of awe, show them all, my lady, that a dragon is never a craven when the conventions of mere men, or their jealousy, get in the way of such enjoyment."
If Laena agrees to the dance, it'll be +1 heat, which gives her a free peek at the Kraken. If she doesn't feel like dancing, Proud says hello.
Because of the circumstances Laena gets +1D on a peek at the Kraken (whether free or otherwise).
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Post by Laena Pyre on Mar 16, 2020 22:49:49 GMT 1
[I am assuming that 'kraken' is the same as 'Leviathan' in the Cider Ball thread, meaning the woman is Dornish. Also, Laena is clearly terrible at risk management. Or possibly just 'decisions' in general.] For a moment, 'Maegelle' is confused by the talk of dragons and bastards, until Laena reasserts control over her thoughts to handle this situation. And she is not pleased. For one thing, her *ridiculously* expensive mask has clearly been seen through. Already. For another, she is trapped in the horns of a dilemma. Maegelle would not be likely to court scandal by willingly dancing with another woman, but Laena is well aware of the implicit threat in the power-play of revealing knowledge of her true identity. Should the other woman take umbrage at her refusal, her real identity could well be revealed, which would likely prove somewhere between 'disastrous' and 'fatal'. All in all, dancing seemed like the *slightly* less risky option. At the very least, it presented an opportunity to try and learn who she was dealing with, and even out the situation somewhat. Still, she must do so in a way that doesn't 'break character' as Maegelle to any observing (and given their collective beauty, she is confident that at least some are). So, she squares her shoulders, and tilts her head back slightly, like she was just challenged - which, in a way, she was - and snaps her arms up into position to answer said challenge. After all, proud and prickly is Maegelle. And bold and likely foolish is Laena. Curiosity - Peek - Cunning (Memory) - TN 12: 5d6k4 5 What a roll. 4 1's and a 2. A less than 1% probability roll. I guess there are worse times, but still: Ow! Curiosity - Peek - Extra +1D: 1d6 3 Gets me to an 8! Just enough to not crit fail! Woo! Curiosity - Peek - Awareness (Notice) +1D: 6d6k5 23 *There*'s where all my luck went! Wow, that's a good roll. |
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Post by Father on Mar 16, 2020 23:16:34 GMT 1
Actually, no, The Kraken is not the Leviathan, and not Dornish (Or at least not skintone suggesting as much, which is really what it means). This one is not featured in the event, but one of those who happens to be at the party and thus can react to what other people are doing.
Also, the +1D does apply to the memory, so it might not go as horribly unless orokos keep up with the trend.
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Post by Laena Pyre on Mar 16, 2020 23:39:14 GMT 1
Quickly updated, and it made a big difference! The situation is merely still 'bad', not 'worse' already.
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Post by Father on Mar 17, 2020 21:39:56 GMT 1
It should not come as a great surprise that Lady Alicent does take an interest in the person who not too long ago did say foul things about her, though it must surely be a rare woman to reply with an invitation to dance, and when Laena lifts her arms, her newfound partner does not hesitate to take the lead. Had she been sober, Laena could probably pick up a trick or two about how to make a dancing partner wanting for more by subtly teasing, then denying him everything. "If my lady might indulge me, is this was grieving widows do to get their minds off their tragedies, or do they revel in being freed from their vows? No longer compelled to be his until end of days and long since beyond a time when their forbidden fruits are reserved for their husband to be? It would explain much, save for the vitriol, but how could that poor lady ever deserve such ire? Freed at last from a decade and more of horrible expectations and an unenviable dilemma, have she not earned to breathe in the sweet air of freedom? With no foul stench to soil such fragrance?" |
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Post by Laena Pyre on Mar 21, 2020 19:42:31 GMT 1
There is a brief pause as Laena untangles two concurrent thought streams into one coherent, yet quiet, response, without losing her prickly stance. "Your question is harder to answer than it may first appear. For you dance not with one person right now, but two. And you have identified and ask questions of one, regarding the words of the Other. You would not think to query why the Other would say such words - indeed, it could well be argued that were she *not* to say them, it would be rather telling that she were not herself. Regardless of her personal feelings regarding you, your grasp of freedom has led the two to a natural collision of interests.
"It would be ... unfortunate if the words I have said were publicly ascribed to the mouth of one partner, and not the Other. For it is fated that the Other will soon make a rather unfortunate drunken mistake, and there is one out in the crowd ready to identify them appropriately. Having .. alternate identities thrown around would likely muddy the waters enough to blunt the impact."
Laena is not entirely comfortable laying out her plan, even using occluded language, however she is confident both that Alicent would not knowingly interfere with a plan to harm Maegelle, and that Laena does not wish Lady Alicent for an enemy.
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Post by Father on Mar 22, 2020 19:32:54 GMT 1
"Nobody likes confusion" Alicent comments knowingly. "But what did the cat do to become the plaything of a dragon?"
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Post by Laena Pyre on Mar 22, 2020 20:47:00 GMT 1
For a moment, the stiffness does not have to be feigned, though the answer is seemingly in a calm enough tone. "She saw to it that a Dancer the dragon was fond of couldn't dance any more."
Vague enough that anyone catching the odd word wouldn't hear anything too specific. Clear enough that Alicent should understand the meaning.
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Post by Father on Mar 23, 2020 15:39:15 GMT 1
"Is that so?" Alicent ponders the revelation momentarily. "I hope my lady can forgive my insolence in questioning the motives of a dragon, but I have learned to expect a swift and terrible retribution to such an offense, leaving nothing but charred bones, this would seem to me as little more than causing a few burns"
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Post by Laena Pyre on Mar 23, 2020 20:17:27 GMT 1
Laena leans in slightly, and lowers her voice further, attempting to keep her back stiff enough so as to not imply intimacy. "What you are describing is our behaviour when we are a bit put out. "She has made me *angry*. "Should she pass now, her last thoughts will be hopeful towards her lover, her children, her legacy. "She doesn't get that. "She gets to live. "She gets to live long enough to see her lover either passed or permafrosted. "Her children deposed, 'their' legacy taken by a man she despises. "And all of her works, everything she strived for in her life, burned to ash. "Only then may she herself be released. "So, yes. This is not 'retribution'. This is simply one step of many to eroding the ground beneath her, before a very, very, very, long fall." |
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Post by Father on Mar 24, 2020 16:27:52 GMT 1
"I better not invoke a dragon's rage, then." Alicent responds lightheartedly, as if this is all a game. "Though ought not those she cares about be targeted first, then? If she first is to stand alone?"
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Post by Laena Pyre on Mar 25, 2020 19:58:50 GMT 1
"Am I to become like as to the one I hunt, then?" She replies, just as lightly. "Uncaring of things such as 'guilt' or 'innocence'? Her lover was apparently with her at the time, so shares culpability. Her children were not. They will lose the power that should not have been theirs to begin with - which is what tonight is aimed towards - and that is where things will end for me.
"If you wish to ensure there are no competing claims for your future progeny, that is entirely your own affair, and none of mine."
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Post by Father on Mar 26, 2020 21:38:50 GMT 1
"A lady I know well, I am sure that my lady knows her too, one far too stubborn to die, more than once have suggested that all is fair in love and war" Alicent responds lightheartedly, not truly caring to start an argument over it. But Margaery Tyrell surely must know a thing or two of such things. "It does sound like an intriguing game, long and challenging, too. She would hardly be the first widow to bury her grief in the arms of a lover" It is difficult to tell through the mask, but it appears as if she is smiling coyly. "Mayhaps my lady might do well to remember the monster of the deepest darkest seas should she feel inclined to share the thrills of such scheming with another?"
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Post by Laena Pyre on Mar 27, 2020 21:07:31 GMT 1
"A lady I know well, I am sure that my lady knows her too, one far too stubborn to die, more than once have suggested that all is fair in love and war" "And a maester, who I believe taught us both at some points, taught me that every action provokes an equal and opposite reaction." From Laena's tone, she's merely stating her position, rather than attempting to argue the point, which she's happy to drop. "It does sound like an intriguing game, long and challenging, too. She would hardly be the first widow to bury her grief in the arms of a lover" It is difficult to tell through the mask, but it appears as if she is smiling coyly. "Mayhaps my lady might do well to remember the monster of the deepest darkest seas should she feel inclined to share the thrills of such scheming with another?" Not blind to the ambiguity of her referring to a 'widow', she nonetheless lets the comment slide, focusing on what's important. "I will remember, should such a situation arise." Allies were allies, after all, and she was not ignorant of how difficult a task she had set herself. |
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Post by Father on Mar 28, 2020 16:39:59 GMT 1
"Equal and opposite? I don't think that man ever talked about people, or should I now expect to hear news of the hag's hated cousin set to marry the future Lady Roxton, then?" Alicent seems to be enjoying playing upon Laena's words. It would seem as if she had nothing more on her mind to say, banter and frivolities might be as good an activity as any to fill the time left before there is a pause in the music.
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