At the sky island of Caroban, a badly damaged airship limps toward the southeast portion, which houses the spheres of Air and Chaos. The port lies on the outskirts of Air, at the section nearest the heart of the island, for reasons that are obvious to any approaching them. The Spheres of Air and Chaos control what amounts to a rift in Caroban, a vast oval of empty air pocked with miniature sky islands floating in it, some drifting free, others tethered to the main island or each other by floating bridges.
As the vessel draws near, the patches on the sails and the balloon become glaringly obvious; two of the air foils are missing entirely. The wooden hull the ship seems worse for wear, too, but the letters of the name are still visible, and seem all too apt: Vision of Battle.
About thirty minutes later, it has successfully docked, and the first passengers disembark: a slight male poodle with sharp features and frothy clothing leads, flanked by two Rephidim lieutenants whose parade-alert seems strained by weariness mixed with relief. One of the lieutenants is a familiar sight to Envoy.
Envoy tugs on Cyprian's sleeve, and points out the uniformed poodle.
The mage's green eyes fix on the female lieutenant, and he nods slightly at Envoy's tug, his gaze never leaving the poodle. An official-looking party from the College approaches the diplomat, and the two leaders exchange formal greetings and pleasantries with appropriate solemnity.
To the foppish poodle's left walks Elise, dressed in the robes and armor of a Rephidim Templar, quite obviously one of the lead poodles' guard. Her left hand rests upon the pommel of her sword while the right hangs formally at her side. Her eyes do not wander; instead they seem focused on the path before her – perhaps a bit too focused, the eyes of a person thinking.
"I guess she's on duty still," Envoy whispers to the dark Eeee. "But she doesn't look injured at least."
He nods again, watching as the party of College officials and attendants escorts the ambassador and his entourage from the docks towards the complex building which forms the heart of Caroban. "Dreams made flesh," he murmurs to himself, words almost too low for Envoy to catch.
"I'm pretty sure she was flesh before that," Envoy says, and starts to follow along behind the group.
Shaking off his reverie, the black-furred Eeee takes a deep breath, then follows as well, several paces behind Envoy.
With admirable haste, the Rephidim Ambassador Dunbarre and his entourage are shown to their quarters – a lavishly appointed wing within the giant main complex at Caroban's center. Dunbarre promptly dismisses all his attendants and half of his guard, with instructions to "get some rest" – looking directly at Elise de Bellefeuille as he delivers the words – then disappears into his bedroom.
"I have had quite enough rest, I should think," whispers Elise to no one in particular. The woman draws up the hood of her robes so that her face is partially hidden and she begins making her way through the complex with the intent of departing.
The hallway leading to the wing for Rephidim's Embassy empties into a spacious lobby with an array of cushioned chairs, couches, and other devices designed to provide comfortable resting spots for a variety of species. As the diplomats are led down the hall, Cyprian takes a seat in a shadowed corner, watching the hallway where the party disappeared into.
Envoy doesn't try to hide, and stands in the middle of the lobby to wait for Elise to (hopefully) return.
After some time has passed, a lone Templar returns from the hallway. She wears the colors of blue and black, and given there was but one lady poodle dressed in such colors accompanying the Ambassador her identify is hardly a secret despite her face being hooded. After a few steps into the lobby she stops walking and looks directly at Envoy.
Envoy smiles and gives a little wave.
"Mage Envoy," greets the poodle officer. "It has been … years? Or would you say it has been much less than that?"
"Well, it has been a while since we've met in person," Envoy admits. "But there is someone else here whom you know but have never met in person before."
"I see. Yes, and we should discuss what all has transpired since last we met." The poodle reaches up and pulls back her hood, letting her curly hair spill backwards and giving her a much better view of her surroundings. "Someone else … ?" she inquires. She the turns her head to look around, and immediately upon spotting Cyprian, freezes, face showing recognition in the form of surprise. Her eyes widen and her muzzle parts as if she were to say something, but no words come out.
On cue, the black Eeee in the corner stands and glides across the floor. "Lady de Bellefeuille," he says, voice low, rich, and very familiar. "Allow me to introduce myself at last. I am Cyprian, of the College Esoterica Embassy at Babel." He bows with courtly formality, and when he straightens, his deep green eyes meet Elise's.
"I suppose this may be a bit awkward for you two," Envoy says. "How about we all go have dinner? I'm sure you must be tired of airship food, Elise." She smiles hopefully.
Elise doesn't quite seem to snap out of her shock nearly so quickly. She lifts a hand a hand to cover her open mouth and after a moment of watching Cyprian nods slightly. "Yes, that would be … wonderful."
At her last word, a small smile quirks on the dark-furred mage's lips, but his deep green eyes show concern. Silently, he offers Elise his arm.
The lady poodle's head tilts so that she can regard the Eeee's arm before she returns her gaze to his deep green eyes. "Pardon my rudeness … I … am Lady Elise Antoine de Bellefeuille of Rephidim, officer of the Temple." She then – very hesitantly as if uncertain she would be able to touch the man at all – reaches out and takes his arm. Then she smiles, though there is still concern in her eyes.
Cyprian's smile grows in response to Elise's, and when she takes his arm, he chuckles, unexpectedly, then places his other hand over hers, where it lays on his forearm. "Nothing to forgive, my lady," he says, shaking his head.
Envoy leads the pair to one of the nearby restaurants that usually serves the diplomats, guests and faculty. "This looks good, and I think I can get the School of Dream to reimburse me on the tab."
During the walk, Elise seems to have developed a slight blush, certainly an uncommon appearance for the usually stiff and formal Templar. Her head moves from regarding Cyprian to staring thoughtfully at the floor and then back again. "Have you a surname?" she inquires of the Eeee.
The Earth Mage enters the restaurant to try and secure a table, while letting Elise and Cyprian spend a little time together alone.
Cyprian shakes his head. "Not as such. It's not uncommon for Babelites of low rank to have no house name when they have no family to speak of - as is my situation. Instead, we take the name of whatever guild we join, so that I am Cyprian of College Esoterica. Or, formally, Cyprian, Master of the Sphere of Mind, of the College Esoterica, et cetera. When it takes that long to stand on formality, I try not to, Lady de Bellefeuille. Forgive me." He smiles again as he speaks.
The lady Elise smiles a bit more. "I … well I am one to have concern with formality. But no matter. I have found you … or perhaps it is you who had found me?" She giggles self-consciously, unaware of herself for the moment.
By contrast, the black-furred Eeee seems as self-contained as ever, though he still smiles. "I am not sure which, myself. But we should not keep Mage Envoy waiting." He gestures with his free hand towards the table at which the Aeolun awaits.
Envoy waves vigorously from the table.
"Oh, yes of course," says Elise, nodding. She then allows the Eeee to lead, following along by his side. During the walk, she manages to notice her reflection in the corner of her eyes, causing her to inhale softly, then calm obviously. She returns to a more formal manner, though she retains her smile.
Politely, Cyprian relinquishes her arm to hold a chair for Elise, waiting for her to seat herself before pushing it in.
"I don't suppose you want to order drinks first?" Envoy asks. "You both look like you could use them."
The Templar seats herself, carefully adjusting her sword and her cape as she does so.
"I am afraid that would not be wise – though I am greatly pleased to … ," she looks between the two, especially at Cyprian, "see you here, there are still matters to attend to. … still things that must be handled."
The Eeee mage chuckles at Envoy's comment. "Thank you, I think my head is quite addled enough as it is, without adding alcohol on an empty stomach." As the other mage is already seated, he takes a chair, leaning back and shaking his head. He raps on the table. "I'm not dreaming now, am I?" he says, almost too softly to be heard.
"I can pinch you if you want," Envoy suggests.
Elise turns her head and her smile to the Eeee mage next to her. "We are not dreaming. I can assure you as much. Undoubtedly you noticed the state of the airship I arrived on. I have been quite active during the last few days in seeing the High Ambassador arrives at all. It has been hard work," she tells the two.
"I do not think that would help. I can feel pain in dreams," the bat murmurs, a shadow of memory passing over his face, and he glances to Elise. "I do not think I fully believed that the dreams were more than just – dreams. I knew. But I did not believe. Until now." He looks from one to the other, then nods to Elise. "You are right. And we do have much to attend to."
"Well then, I think we should take some time to review what we know so far. I would warn you all to not mention any investigation you may see to while here," says Elise. She folds her hands carefully across her lap and turns to Cyprian once again. "But once this is over, I would like to speak of other matters. There is much to discuss."
