we are the wild youth, chasing visions of our futures

[selfloyalty]

Date & Time: FORWARD-DATED to November 3rd, afternoon
Location: Unit 302
Characters: Anora and Cailan
Summary: AFTER WEEKS OF AVOIDING EACH OTHER it's time to ~talk~
Warnings: Maker who knows.

Things had finally settled down as far as Anora was aware. It was entirely possible that another threat was potentially looming, one could never exactly tell with this place, but for now all was settled and Anora was setting up a pot to boil, preparing herself some afternoon tea to settle her nerves and convince herself that the trouble has passed.

She's not anticipating any visitors. Martin was off living with that eerie dead man for whatever reason, and Alistair was out and about. The apartment felt empty, lonely in a way, but she should be used to it by now and appreciate the solitude and quiet.

She set out a mug for herself and sifted through the cabinets for a packet of chamomile tea. Perhaps she will finish that horrid book she had started.

Comments

[ohmygodgreywardens]

No. No, the trouble was not past. Not in the slightest, but it also wasn't going to be coming soon. Unless she thought Cailan was trouble, which, granted, he could be. But he was hoping that he wouldn't be trouble, when he knocked on her door. Knocked at it soft and politely, not just coming in like usual. Not throwing his fist against the door, demanding to be let in.

No. He hoped she would let him in. It was time to make amends, like his friend, Ashraf, had told him: this place was giving everyone another chance. And Cailan was now, after talking to Alistair, determined to make things right.

[selfloyalty]

Anora looked up from her search towards the entrance of the apartment. The knocking was, honestly, unfamiliar to her. Most of the people who visited unannounced also let themselves in unannounced. Perhaps it was an acquaintance of Alistair's...or one of Martin's who had yet to know that he had taken up residence elsewhere.

She probably should have checked to see who it was before opening the door. But it was too late and there he was. There was the temptation to close the door in his face, in anticipation of being yelled at or questioned or something, but Cailan was looking calmer than he had been during their last encounter so she merely just remained in the doorway, clutching the door slightly for support.

She swallowed a lump forming in her throat as she looked up at him and she straightened her posture, voice hollow. "...hello Cailan."

[ohmygodgreywardens]

She looked tired. Cailan immediately felt guilty for that; it all had been a trying, difficult time, and he certainly had not made it any easier for her.

"Hello, Anora," He tried giving a smile, but it ended up looking more worried then anything else. "I was wondering... if I could come in? I'd like to talk to you."

He paused. "Please?"

[selfloyalty]

She didn't move to let him in, and instead remained at the door, posture and position unchanged. Her eyes narrowed at his worried gaze and her mind was beginning to churn with mixed emotions that she did not know how to make heads or tails of this situation.

It replicated her feelings when she had learned of his dalliances, though this time it was something that had been more her fault than his.

"And here I thought you never wanted to step foot in my little love nest." She mimicked the tone he had used on her in the past, and it was like she was a child again, picking meaningless fights in order to appease her pride. Her father taught her better than this, and yet... "I would be doing you a favour if shut the door right here and now."

[ohmygodgreywardens]

Woman! Stop doing this! Cailan frowned, folding his arms in front of his chest. He never could tell what it was exactly what she wanted from him.

"You'd be doing me a favor by welcoming me inside. I'd hate to do you the favor of getting rid of such a hideous door."

[selfloyalty]

There's a moment where it looked like she was going to just shut the door in his face at that comment, but she's an adult and what she had just said was an immature outburst in response to her conflicting emotions.

She finally stepped aside, opening the door wider to allow him into the apartment.

[ohmygodgreywardens]

"Thank you," He gives her a bow of his head, coming inside with a clank of his armor. Not all of it, though; he's learning that maybe all of it is not needed all of the time. Leg and arm coverings are just good, common sense.

"I came to apologize for my outburst. And our talk. And for... everything. I let my feelings take advantage of me."

[selfloyalty]

She knew of his talk with Alistair, her second husband having returned sometime after his talk with his brother to clean up, sporting some notable bruises but a smile nonetheless.

It had went well, and while she was surprised she was...pleased that they had been able to sort things out.

Anora closed the door behind them, moving towards the kitchen to shut off the boiling kettle. She wasn't in the mood for tea anymore.

"I was...well aware that most of what you said had been due to the heat of the moment." She knew she had to apologize too. For keeping information from him, but at the moment she didn't know if she could collect all her thoughts into words.

[ohmygodgreywardens]

"It was still not 'kingly' of me," Cailan said, and then in a softer tone. "It was not honorable of me to put my wife in that position, nor to say those words to her. Not just to my wife; to anyone that I have professed care for."

He followed her into the kitchen. "To learn of what happens in the future is a terrible shock. But I should have... I know. I," He stopped and cleared his throat. "I know what happens when a monarch falls, and what the next step is to be. What you did was not... it was the right course of action. I learned that, we both. We both learned that, fairly young. That if there was ever a time... that one of us were to succumb to an illness, or fall in battle, or there was something... wrong..."

He didn't know what to say. "It should not have been a shock, to hear what happened after."

[selfloyalty]

"No, it was not." It was said simply, her back still facing him as she stood by the stove, bracing her hands against the counter. "It was not for anyone else to know, either." It was... embarrassing, in a way. Not that she let petty rumours and gossip get to her, but it was still something that the general public of Exsilium should not have to know.

There was a long pause following that, and she didn't turn to look at him, even after he sorted through what he wanted to say. Her knuckles whiten as she continued to use the countertop as support.

"It was not my choice, you realize. If it were, I would have ruled alone without a husband to..." She stopped herself, reminding herself just who she was talking to. She looked up, finally turning around to face him, her arms crossed.

"It was the Warden's decision. Not...this Warden, of course. She would rather her inexperienced friend sit alone on the throne while Eamon no doubt lectured him on what he thought was proper." It's said bitterly.

"But the Warden that Alistair knew. She...was the one who proposed it."