♛ → THE CROWNLANDS & STORMLANDS present AENOGAIA QOHERYS, the LADY of ROSBY / COURT SEER TO JAEHAERYS II TARGARYEN. when the dragons danced in the sky they thought the BLACKS would still fly, but in the blink of an eye, they would all die. the TWENTY-FOUR year old FEMALE who was PECULIAR & WILFUL before they saw the first of the flames, is now RUTHLESS & VINDICTIVE after seeing the last. they’re often associated with strange symbols traced into dust, the feeling of being watched in a dark place and high pitched, echoing screams from far away. ( thea sofie loch næss )
BIO:
( tw: animal death, death of a child )
From a very young age, Aenogaia was aware that she was cursed.
Not in that very capacity. Early on, she would have called it bad luck. Her favorite cat passing far before its time. A close friend succumbing to a long illness. It wasn't until she'd reached her fifth nameday, that the bad luck spread from targeting those around her, to targeting her. Cuts and bruises, more so than the children she ran with, played with. The peculiar way she carried herself with, that she knew things instinctively that others did not, that she had flashes of visions, abilities, did not leave many of the same age to play with, and yet she found friends. Those who were not afraid of a little strangeness, who emphasized, even.
It was one of those precious few that would be the first Gaia would see die. Bloody and hopeless. Gaia stood over a boy who had just laughed and challenged her, and who now bled from a wound in his head onto the very rock he'd smashed it against. A slip on slick ground, softened by rain. And then- Gaia hadn't known a person that small could bleed so much. It seeped into the earth, satiating something nobody could see. The young Lady Qoherys' hands had been stained red from trying to stop the bleeding. It was useless. Aenogaia stared, tears sticky on her cheeks when the last breath shuddered from her friend's chest.
Finding new friends was difficult after that. After returning to the courtyard in Dragonstone blood smeared, trying to get someone to listen long enough to tell them where her friend was lying lifelessly. Even those still alive, who had been fond of her before, kept their distance.
Instances just like this one continued as she got older. And as she developed and learned of her family's history, she put a name to that bad luck.
Curse. Cursed by brick, curse by stone. Cursed by never ending greed and ambition. Cursed by melted metal and cursed by screams of pain long faded in mud and rain and sunshine.
Harrenhal had dug its claws deeply into her family's bones, wormed its way into their very being to where there was no way to distinguish where they ended and the curse began. There was no end to an immortal curse. Only to their very mortal lives. Over a century of being rid of the place, and yet it held on. Perhaps it was because of her mother's desire to return, to make it the great seat of the House Qoherys once more. No longer dragon riders, but of Valyrian decent nonetheless. Important. Made of fire and blood. Perhaps it was in her sisters's insistence to ignore that anything was wrong. Curses were proud things, Gaia thought. If they did not get the respect they were due, they acted out. Left devastation in their path until they could no longer be dismissed.
The suffering never ceased, never stopped for even a moment to allow her to breathe.
Aenogaia would seek an end to it. Threw herself into her ability to see things few others did. Dove head first into rituals many objected to. Sacrifices, counter curses, obsession, morbid fascination.
The knock at his chamber doors was met first with silence, save for the faint crackle of the brazier within the room. Jaehaerys Targaryen sat by the fire, its warmth casting long shadows across his scarred face. His good eye, the one of bright, piercing violet, turned toward the door as the guards opened it just enough to admit Aenogaia Qoherys into his presence.
She swept into the room, her composure steady, but the urgency in her expression betrayed her. Jaehaerys rose slowly from his seat, his towering frame casting an imposing figure against the firelight. He was clad only in a loose tunic and breeches, but even so, his presence dominated the space. His silver hair, cut short, caught the light as he regarded her with curiosity—and a flicker of irritation at being disturbed so early.
"My lady," he began, his voice a low growl, "I trust you have a reason for waking your king at such an hour. Speak plainly and quickly." He stepped closer, his sharp gaze studying her face. "What troubles you so deeply that it cannot wait for daylight?"
He gestured to a nearby chair, his tone softening only slightly as he added, "Sit, if you need. But do not waste my time with riddles. I expect clarity." His hands, calloused and scarred, rested at his sides, his imposing presence giving little comfort. He knew Gaia to be capable, rarely one to let fear show. For her to seek him out like this meant whatever she carried weighed heavily—and that, at least, piqued his interest.
Gaia stepped forward into the room, her movements sharp and decisive, despite the unease gnawing at her insides. Her eyes flicked briefly to Jaehaerys, noting the steely way he watched her, his presence all but consuming the space. He was a man who commanded attention, even in such a simple moment.
He invited her to sit, and she did. Aenogaia hesitated for only a moment, gathering her thoughts. The image from her dream lingered in her mind, twisting and curling like the serpents she had seen, yet she knew she could not allow herself to be rattled in front of him.
“The dream I had,” she began, her voice calm, but with a certain weight to it, “was not one of comfort. It was of darkness, a great hall, stone walls, vast, empty, until a light appeared, sickly, faint. Above it, a statue of a seven-pointed star. As it grew, it was consumed by thorns, spreading like wildfire.”
Gaia’s eyes flicked up to meet his. “Snakes, Your Grace. Snakes crawling through the growth. But they weren’t just crawling. They were climbing, reaching toward the star. There was one, in particular, that locked its eyes on me, its blue eyed gaze cold, deliberate. I knew… it was no ordinary snake. And before the pedestal collapsed, I felt the danger of it.”
Her words fell heavy between them. “I am not entirely sure what it means, but I know it is no small thing.” She met his gaze, her expression unwavering despite the creeping sense of dread still clinging to her. “It’s a warning.”
marcella noted the other's reasoning for choosing to become court seer. she could not argue with it. boredom had driven her to dive even deeper into her craft, reading tomes, and experimenting with forces beyond herself. forces that she was trying her best to gain control of.
“hmm, you could have done something else with it, though,” she pointed out with a shrug. people usually picked the path that lined their pockets with the most gold. “taken coin from those desperate enough to have someone else peer into their mundane lives for the answers they seek.”
they both knew there were plenty of pretenders out there, women who dared call themselves witches because they had a basic understanding of healing, and little else. “but i am sure the king appreciates you using your talents for the benefit of the kingdom, did he ask you himself?” she regularly checked to see if the whispers that reached her were true, she wanted to make sure the channels of information were free of false rumours.
Gaia regarded Marcella with a raised brow, her expression a mix of curiosity and caution. She had always found the Celtigar Lady sharp and perceptive, qualities Gaia both respected and felt a touch wary of. Still, she was less inclined to play games, but sometimes, there was a fun in it that not even Gaia could deny.
“Gold? That’s not really the point,” Gaia said, a slight shrug lifting her shoulders. “There are plenty of women who’ll take coin from desperate souls seeking answers, but that’s not why I’m here. I’ve no interest in selling false promises.” Her gaze held steady, her voice blunt but not unkind. “I’m here because I want to do something useful. I’ve spent too much time being bored.”
She leaned back slightly, her arms folding across her chest, as though bracing herself for Marcella’s response. “As for the King, no, he didn’t come asking. But when the opportunity came, I took it. Sometimes, the path is clearer when you don’t wait to be invited.”
the room felt heavier as saella watched her sister’s unease. gaia’s tension was palpable, an energy that lingered like a storm cloud waiting to break. the elder's lilac eyes narrowed slightly, her fingers tracing the edge of the book's worn pages. the weight of it felt unnatural in her hands, an object not meant to rest in this world—or at least not in hers.
“a gift,” saella echoed dryly, her lips curving into something that wasn’t quite a smile. she tilted her head, studying the other's tight posture. “and yet, you look as though it might swallow us whole.” her voice was laced with skepticism, her usual veneer of charm slipping as the air grew tense.
she snapped the book shut—not harshly, but with enough force to punctuate the moment. "research, you say?" her gaze lingered on her sister, sharp and unyielding. “since when does a grafton—” she said the name like it was an amusing little jest, “dabble in such curiosities?” truthfully, saella knew nothing of norbert grafton, only that he had money.
the realization hit her and she let out a sharp exhale, her gaze flicking from the book to gaia. the corners of her mouth twitched—not quite a smile, but the ghost of amusement trying to break through. "harrenhal," she mused, her tone edged with disbelief as she leaned back in her chair, drumming her fingers lightly against the armrest. “the grand, cursed ruin that keeps half the realm up at night. and you, dear sister, want to waltz right in and… what? break the curse? as if centuries of death and ruin are just waiting for you to wave your hand and fix them?”
Gaia’s posture remained stiff, her hands clenched tightly behind her back, betraying the unease twisting inside her. The book, that damned book, was all she could focus on now. It seemed to pulse in the space between them, as if alive and waiting for her to claim it back. Saella’s dry tone and mocking curiosity only deepened her discomfort.
“You don’t understand,” Gaia said, the words sharp and a little too defensive, as though Saella’s disbelief was a personal affront. She took a half-step closer, her eyes flickering from her sister’s face to the book in her hands. “You never have. This isn’t just some superstition or old wives’ tale.” Her voice turned almost petulant, but her conviction remained unwavering. She felt like a child, repeating what she had told her sister time and time again. “The curse is real, Sae. It’s not something you can simply ignore. You haven’t seen what I have, or heard the whispers. It’s not just superstition. The curse is real.”
Her fingers curled into fists at her sides, and her heart raced. Saella’s lighthearted dismissal of Norbie’s work, of her work, cut deep. “He’s far more observant than anyone else gives him credit for. This isn’t some half-baked nonsense." He had gone out of his way to research the perimeter, and to write it all down for her. Even if Norbie did not believe in the things Gaia believed in, he had done this for her. "You don’t get it,” she murmured, almost to herself, but then forced herself to look at her sister once more. “That book is mine. It’s important, Saella. Don't take it from me.”
The words hung in the air, a mix of frustration and desperation. Despite her resolve, she was afraid. Afraid of being laughed at, of being dismissed, of seeing her work treated as nothing more than a curiosity. But she had no intention of backing down now.
devani nodded a head, pressing a hand to her chest. "it is not for me to tell you what to do. i'm not your mother - i'm far too young and beautiful for that," her tone was light with teasing. "but thinking about it is all i ask. i don't believe that you're a silly woman. you'll figure it out."
she shook her head, dismissing gaia's suggestion. "no, see, you're still thinking too noticeable. people remember the grotesque. they tell their friends about the grotesque. you'll be traceable. with a bard, they rarely remember their face, just their song." she gestured around the room with one hand. "the trick is, to pay attention to the person your eyes pass by when you look around the room. the person your attention does not want to be wasted on. and then copy what it is they do."
Gaia absorbed Devani’s words with an intensity she rarely allowed herself to show. Her mind swirled with new possibilities, thoughts she hadn’t considered before. The idea of blending into the background, becoming someone people barely noticed yet somehow remembered, struck a chord with her. She felt a flicker of admiration for how Devani spoke so matter-of-factly, like she had seen it all, and yet had an unspoken compassion for those still searching for their path.
“Not the grotesque,” Gaia murmured, as if testing the notion, her brow furrowed in thought. She gave a quiet nod. “The song, not the face…”
Her gaze flickered around the room, considering the advice. It was subtle but clever. The suggestion to imitate the unnoticed, to blend seamlessly, felt almost too simple, but there was a quiet wisdom to it that Gaia couldn’t deny. She leaned in slightly, her voice quiet but more thoughtful than before. “And what if one doesn’t know what it is they want to copy yet? Where does one begin, Lady Toland?”
There was a spark of something in her eyes now, a genuine curiosity, and in a rare moment of acceptance and fascination, Gaia found herself genuinely open to the wisdom of another.
minthara stilled, her fingers tightening in gaia's hair and lips parted in stunned disbelief. "lower positions?" she echoed, her voice faint at first, and then panic flared, and she was all but tugging at gaia's hair in her exuberance. "lower born? tell me that's not a prophecy, aenogaia qoherys, tell me you ain't seen me with a fisherman or a stableboy in your dreams. and if you have, you'll have to dream again. no. no. that ain't happening."
she seemed to realise then that she was pulling gaia's hair, and released it, though her hands still moved animatedly. "well of course it matters," she was not an ambitious woman, but there was no denying that having a name was everything. "i've struggled enough in life, thank you. don't need more of it by throwing myself at a man without a pot to piss in. i'd be a laughing stock."
she shuddered dramatically, throwing her hands over her face, though she was not able to resist peeking through her fingers to see if gaia was looking. "the shame of it," she groaned, before dropping her hands to her lap. "one friend in a pit of dragons," she mused. "well, it's something at least."
Gaia’s laughter was soft, but it held a warmth that curled around her friend like a blanket. She didn’t need to read the future to know how fiercely Minthara’s pride would guard her heart, or how deeply the idea of lowering herself in status struck at her. But the panic in Minthara’s voice, such rare vulnerability, pulled at something within Gaia. It reminded her of how deeply her friend cared about things.
Gaia’s fingers rested gently on Minthara’s wrist as she eased the woman’s hands away from her hair, careful not to cause more of a ruckus than necessary. She met her friend’s eyes, offering a smile that wasn’t mocking, just understanding. “No, Minty,” she said, voice rarely so gentle, almost coaxing. “I haven’t seen you with a fisherman or a stableboy, and I wouldn’t dream of it. But if you did, it wouldn’t be the shame you think it is.”
She tilted her head, a soft sigh escaping her lips. “You’re a force, Minty. You know that just as well. You know what you want. But you don’t have to sell your soul for it. You’re worth far more than what any man’s name can offer you.”
Her fingers brushed a stray lock of hair back into place as she gazed at Minthara with quiet fondness. “And as for the dragons… I’m here, aren’t I? One friend in a pit of dragons, yes, but not just any friend. You have me.”
Ben stared at her, her words reaching deeper into him than he would care to admit, and for a moment, he was a little boy again, forced into a role that some grown men still balked at. a little boy, on his knees in the midst of the dead, tears and blood hot upon his face. "a child in armour?" he repeated, his voice tight. "your visions tell you that, or a bard you heard squawking in the markets? your little friend tell you the tale of bloody ben?"
she was speaking on things she had no right to speak of, trying to trick him with things she had no right to touch. he wrenched his hand from her grip and stepped back, rolling his wrist as though to shake off the shade of her touch. "i don't have time for this. hold on to that stupid coin, then. and hold your tongue while you're at it." his jaw was clenched, his expression laced with anger. "but don't think that you know who i am. you're not the first to try and weave together a story out of my name, and you won't be the last."
he didn't want to be here anymore. not with her, not at the festival. he wanted to go home, but even that was not a safe place for him. there was no peace to be found in raventree hall, nowhere he could leave his troubles at the door. without another word, ben turned and walked away.
Gaia watched the Lord pull his hand away, his voice a mix of anger and something far more vulnerable she didn’t want to acknowledge. He looked at her like she was an intruder in a space far deeper than she had any right to tread. The words stung, but not in the way he likely intended.
She straightened, her jaw tightening. She hated how his vulnerability gnawed at her, how it made something inside her shift. How she saw the boy buried beneath all that armor and bravado. She wanted to shake it off, to dismiss him entirely, but his refusal to let her in made her want to push harder.
“You think I don’t know you?” she spat, though a part of her questioned if she really did. “Don’t mistake my words for pity, Blackwood. I don’t have time for your games either.”
Still, she found herself watching him turn away, the familiar coldness of his retreat pulling at her like a string. She had seen enough to know when to speak and when to stay silent. There was more to him, she knew it, but he wasn’t ready to face it. And neither was she. But there was no mistaking it—he was right about one thing: she didn’t know him. Not yet.
The coin stayed in her possession. She felt the weight heavily.
who: @jaehaerysiitargaryen
when: aenogaia qoherys has a worrying vision
The room she found herself in was shrouded in darkness.
It was large, by the sounds she could make out in the distance, even if it was far too dark for her eyes to even adjust to any shapes or silhouettes.
Her arms spread out, slowly rising to her sides and slightly to her front, fingers splaying, trying to see if she could reach anything at all of her surroundings. Her breath sounded shallow in her ears. The hissing in the distance was louder.
Gaia put one foot in front of the other, slowly but steadily. She walked for what felt like ages, seconds, minutes and hours passing around her as she trudged through impenetrable darkness.
Until there was a small light ahead.
It gave the hall she was in some shape the closer she got, steps growing bolder. There was no beginning or and in sight to the great hall, and there was nothing around her; except for stone paved flooring and a statue up ahead. Her head tipped back into her neck as she looked up at the carved structure. At the top, she recognized a seven pointed star, the glow it emitted looking eery. Sickly light, somehow, as though it held equal amounts of shadows within its shine.
There was another hiss somewhere to her front. Gaia glanced down. The pedestal was beginning to be overgrown. Branches inching up the stone slowly, thorny wood reaching towards the star. She felt a breath hitch in her throat when something sharp brushed by her ankles and she stumbled back to bypass even more thorns slithering ahead. The growth was slow and Gaia watched intently, and as she watched, she saw movement in-between the thicket. Lithe, long bodies slithering through, unperturbed by the sharp edges all around.
It grew and grew, as did the amount of snakes, hissing as they moved upwards and upwards. And suddenly, the ground underneath gave way with a loud crumbling sound and the pedestal collapsed, the star tilted to the side, dangerously close to snapping off its hold and falling. The thorns began to claw their way up the statue, no longer slow and almost subdued. There was nothing but harshness there now, insistent in the way the structure of the star continued to disappear behind thick branches.
The head of a snake peaked out of the thicket, staring right at her. What caught her attention most were its striking blue eyes, staring into her as though it knew she did not belong in this realm. The forked tongue flickered out as it slithered its body out of the thick, its scales seemingly immune to the thorns scraping against them.
Their eye contact held for several moments. Then, the snake lunged at her with a resounding hiss.
Gaia woke with a gasp. It took her barely any time to jump out of bed, dress herself as best as she could manage before she walked swiftly from her own quarters. Aenogaia breezed through the hallways until she made it to the King's quarters. His guards were posted outside. That was all the sign she needed that Jaehaerys Targaryen was there. It was early, still, it seemed. "I need to speak with the King," she spoke, words steady and firm. Surprisingly, she thought. Gaia felt rattled from this dream. Drained, even though she had just rested for several hours.
he could not help it. there was a threat somewhere buried in her words, and that made him burst out laughing. "oh, should i?" he made no attempt to conceal the mockery in his voice. "you seem to be glossing over the fact you did lie to me," he pointed out. "does that not make you, by definition, a liar?" what need had he to take care with his wording, when she had in fact been untruthful?
he blinked a little, confusion furrowing his brow. "do you think i was born yesterday?" he asked her. he was not the most educated of men, but he was far from stupid. "or do you truly think you can shoot some more vague untruths my way, call them prophecies, and that would satisfy me?"
Her teeth ground together, the noise merely adding to the rush in her ears. Rhythmic, dark and slightly painful. Gaia let out a breath of air, looking at Benjicot Blackwood as though he had hung the sun in the sky for the mere intention of making her feel far too hot and sweaty. She rolled her shoulders back, clenched her fingers into fists before quickly stepping forward and taking his hand. This time, she did not look down at the stupid lines that ran across his palm, or the tiny scars and discolorations that spelled out the life of an accomplished soldier, even if he could not have been very old yet.
She held his gaze, her own eyes narrowed in sharpness at his own mix of confusion and mockery. Something flashed through her then, a feeling of sympathy that she did not quite know how to reconcile with how she had gotten to know the Lord from their brief interactions. Someone too small for the shoes they were designed to fill, shoes that fit but also not, as though they were poorly, hastily crafted. "You're a child in armour," she muttered, shaking her head. Her grip on his hand was tight, tips of her fingers touching the callouses on his. "How does it feel?" she mused, voice softening, icy eyes going unfocused. "To never know what is good enough? To not know it is alright to weep for lost things?"
A loud crashing sound from nearby, the roar of laughter that followed right after ripped her out of the fog that had overtaken her mind and she quickly let go of Lord Blackwood's hand. Gaia stepped back, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She was back to scowling at the man in front of her. "I am keeping that damned coin."
devani stayed quiet, giving gaia the time to ponder the question posed, all the while sipping her wine casually, as though the topic of conversation were as banal as the weather and not a philosophical one of the worth of a person. "the best place to hide is in plain sight," she nodded. "in the unremarkable. doesn't mean there isn't a remarkable person under it all."
she let out a low hum, holding up one finger to pause gaia whilst she finished the contents of her goblet and placing it carelessly on the nearest surface. "yes, yes, i understand. but are the answers to the questions worth giving everything else up? you do not have to answer that now, but think about it. once you go, you may not be able to come back. a changed mind with no options is a terrible thing."
she paused, mulling over the option. "an entertainer is always good. opens a lot of doors. a seer could be tricky. not everyone would welcome one, some would call you a witch and throw rocks at you, or worse. could walk yourself into more trouble that you walk yourself out of."
Gaia looked at Devani with an entirely different sort of appreciation now. Her head tipped to the side, fingers ruffling through the layers of her dress as she crossed her hands behind her back. Unbridled curiosity shone from her gaze as well as her stance. "I suppose it is a good thing to think about," she conceded. The truth was her very being ached for those answers. But was it worth her death? Was it worth to cross that line she had been toeing since she had been but a small child?
"An entertainer..." she trailed off, trying to think of what that would entail. Of what she might be willing to do for such a guise. "Well, I am not very funny, but I still think I can be entertaining. Some people find enjoyment in the grotesque."
She rolled her eyes in earnest then, unable to keep the scoff from scratching up her throat. "You and your poems." Gaia, equally unable to keep the fondness out of her tone, caught one glimpse at him after her friendly jab before the match went out. They were enveloped in darkness once more. She was undeterred. It was more of a comforting blanket than a dark omen.
"Should we leave, then?" The scratching had stopped. Whatever energy she had felt here before was slowly vanishing, as though it was the ocean water, trickling through the broken planks. "Before your rat king catches us." The spirits' time seemed to be up. It felt needless to linger.
gaia's match went out first, his own following mere seconds later. norbie huffed, not from fear of the dark, but the inconvenience of it all. it took a moment for his eyes to adjust again. once gaia's face was discernible in the gloom, he offered her a small smile. "you and your ghosts," he teased her back.
"yes. let us go. the hour is late." he had little plans to sleep just yet, though. "i plan to do some star gazing before i retire for the evening. you're welcome to join me if you're not too tired yet." he offered her his arm, ready to lead her out of the wreck.
"yes, but how do you believe it?" minthara spoke with the tone of a child, asking questions just to ask them. "do you not have to know there's something to believe in, first? it's like when my brother told me that in yi ti, they believe in a goddess with a monkey tail or something, i don't remember the details. but i never would have thought about believing in that." she was babbling now, not even entirely sure what she was talking about anymore.
"well, i would, if i wanted him to wine and dine me. it was all just a bit of a laugh." if there was one thing minthara was good at, it was getting on people's nerves for her own amusement. "not sure he'd know how to handle me for a whole dinner. he couldn't even handle ten minutes." gaia's head was on her knee, and minty moved to play with the strands of her hair, twisting a lock of valyrian silver around her index finger, the same colour as her mother's.
she found herself nodding, then stilled, almost comically, her fingers halting their movement in gaia's hair. "what does that mean?" she asked. "not someone you can be bound to. what does that mean?" had anybody else said it, it would not seem significant, but gaia new things others didn't. minthara knew she could glimpse into the future, had needled her before about what lay in her own. was she alluding to such things now? gaia spoke of the world, but it was all too much for minty to comprehend. she shrugged, resuming her act of combing her fingers through her hair. "don't need the whole world. i just want to go home. to greenstone."
It was rare that Gaia had nothing to say to a question of belief, but this time, she came up empty. How did she believe in such a feeling? Darker energies, whispers of the past and visions of an uncertain future, fuzzy at times as though there was smoke wafting through and muddling the image. All those were things she had learned to grasp to a certain extent. Knowing why she could believe this sort of thing, though? That was beyond her. "I don't know," she finally admitted with a soft shrug. "I guess I simply want to believe in it."
Her lips twisted into a grin. "Good riddance, then." Minty did not usually mask her thoughts or rethink her words. It was something Gaia did as well, but admired Minty's fiery stance on many things. Warm personality that Gaia stretched towards like a cat in front of a fireplace. She would have purred at the fingers carding through her hair if she could have.
Her eyes had fluttered shut for a moment, before Minthara stopped her ministrations. Gaia peeked her eyes open, curious at the way her friend had posed the question. Like it had startled her somehow. "Love is not solely distributed between the high born," she simply said, shrugging again. "You know the scandals of ladies falling for those in lower positions. I don't think it should matter much, but it is what it is."
This time, a softer smile emerged, and she hummed, "I know. You'll go home again. Don't let King's Landing drag you down. I'll be there with you, too. You'll have me to lean on."
brows rose in surprise at the name uttered from gaia's lips, and even more, that she had called him her friend. it were not that saella thought that gaia had no friends, quite the opposite, really, but rather, she did not expect her sister to have found a friend in such a high place. "grafton?" she questioned, giving way to the curiosity that lingered in her mind, now. finger moved over the edges of the pages, not quite opening it yet, but hinting to her next move.
"where'd he get it?" she asked, and saella felt the uneasiness of the object in her very hands, a sixth sense of sorts that seemed to make it's way through her veins, the same sort of feeling she had experienced when she drank the blue liquid in the dragon pits some time ago. it was the same feeling that some strange memories of harrenhal, that were not her own, gave her. that alone made her begin to grow more anxious, almost angry that gaia would bring this into their home. she opened it now, not really looking at the page and moreso gauging her sister's reaction to the act. "you can, soon." she answered, holding up the page to gaia. "what is this and where is it from?"
The air around them seemed to shift and change as Saella opened Norbie's gift, the candles around them seemed to flicker and darken as though they felt Gaia's unease. Perhaps it was all imagined, and yet, her discomfort was not. She froze, eyes fixed on her sister's hands holding the book, her fingers skimming over the edges of the pages.
"It's a gift," Aenogaia repeated, almost downright petulant. After a moment of mulling it over, teeth drawing in her bottom lip, she deflated a little, though no less tense in the way her body was posed. "He did the research himself. Since I..." cannot yet go myself. That was the moment she kept quiet. Saella would be adamantly against it. Would call it ridiculous perhaps, would say that Gaia needed to finally let it go.
"honest is an interesting word choice," ben fired back, his tone undeniably heated. "but then, i suppose big dirty stinking lying work doesn't quite have the same sort of ring to it, does it, lady qoherys?" as much as he was making a show of being annoyed, there was a slight curl to ben's lips. he was enjoying this - having someone to fight with.
he blinked, unsure what she was getting at. "proof of what?" he sounded genuinely confused, before letting out a sigh. "all i want is my coin back. fair's fair, yeah? so just pay me and i'll be on my way."
A deep crease formed between her brows. He was upset about the entirely wrong thing and did not even realize it. Yes, she had lied about his fortune. No, she had not lied about the ability to tell one. Gaia had been carefree with her visions before, chasing them as they came, but never before putting them to focussed use. She had to now, had to sharpen her talent to secure her quite unusually given position.
"You should be very careful with who you call a liar, Lord Blackwood," she shot back, ice in every syllable she threw at him.
A scoff scratched up her throat and she took another step forward, reaching out to take his hand. This time, fully intending to tell him a truth instead of an amusing lie. For better or for worse. "I'll proof to you, that taking back your coin would be a disservice to me, but most of all, to yourself."
"is anybody just anybody?" devani challenged back, brow arching. "are we not all shaped by what sets us apart from everyone else? the only difference is some of us wear it as a badge of honour, and others hide it like a scar." it was something she'd firmly come to believe in. she had always marched to the beat of her own drum, but that did not mean that nobody else heard the rhythm of their heart, whether they chose to let other in on its music or not.
"you might return," she corrected her. "and you just as easily might not. you cannot be certain when you don't know what waits for you there." for the first time in perhaps her entire life, devani felt old. gaia's confidence spoke of her youth, and perhaps devani was a little too weary of the world after having seen so much of it. "if i might give you some advice?" she hadn't asked, but devani was going to say it anyway. "do not make that journey if you expect to return from it. if you can make peace with the fact you will not, and still want to go, only then should you."
that was the choice devani had made. to leave, never to return. sometimes, she wished she hadn't. she missed the life of devi the bard. "there's power in being a nobody. your last name holds value in westeros, but it will not protect you when you are beyond the influence it carries. in such circumstances, anonymity is a much sturdier shield."
Gaia's eyes flickered between Devani's own when the challenge came. Is anybody just anybody? Yes, she wanted to say. Some people were. Yet that would come off entirely too arrogant for what she was trying to say. Some people were just some people to her, because their focus lingered on different things. She paid little mind to things she deemed trivial. "Sometime it is safer to hide in certain places," Aenogaia responded, lightly almost. Light, and to most seemingly carefree.
Gaia felt the power slip from between her fingers, felt the control she'd previously had on the conversation gradually loosen. Devani saw right through her now as she offered her advice. No gods given gifts to back her with it. Aenogaia felt inexplicably young in a flash. "The questions I have cannot be answered within the safety of Westeros." She spoke quietly, and entrusted secret. Was she at peace now, leaving everything behind and potentially never ever returning?
"I think anonymity would suit me." She welcomed this change of topic with a grin, quick and eager. "Who do you think could I become? I do well as a traveling seer, it seems. Markets and such."
he knew the estermont girl by name only, along with the fact she was good friends with a bracken, and therefore, he thought little of her. her companion, on the other hand, was another matter. he did not know her name, or at least, he didn't before minthara announced it, loudly, before scampering off. qoherys was not the name of a hedge witch or a common seer.
"what kind of fortune teller is called aenogaia qoherys?" he asked, ignoring her attempts to act as though they have never met before. qoherys was a noble name. there was a faint stirring in his mind connecting it to harrenhal, though he did not know why. the last lords of that place had been strongs.
"i want my coin back." he held out his palm, brows raising in expectation. "considering i am a victim of fraud, i believe it is the least you owe me."
"A very good one." She could not help the petulant tone that seeped into her voice as she stared him down, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. Unfortunate, that the charm of their first interaction was now taken away by him being so dismayed.
Gaia was genuinely affronted now, even if he did have a point. She had not been honest with him, had not told him a true fortune even if she could have. "So you would rob someone of their reward for honest work?" The question was sharp, even if the edge was dulled by the very knowledge that the work had been half honest at best. She huffed out a breath. "Fine. Would you like proof?" She was not about to be called a liar by Benjicot Blackwood, no matter how true it was in their case.
"you'd have to prepare for a long journey. took me years to get there. granted, i was waylaid fairly often." it was less that she was waylaid, and more that devani had never made a solid plan for where her travels would take her. she had known from the minute she left dorne that asshai was a place she wished to find herself in, but she had travelled with the wind, allowing its currents to blow her in whatever direction it chose. "i actually ended up travelling there with a dothraki khalasar." she was prone to lying, but this story was true, if unbelievable. "well, across the plains with them, anyway. halfway there. they don't roam that far east."
she blinked then, her head cocking. "you wouldn't return," she pointed out. "nobody returns from old valyria." she'd be lying if she said she wasn't curious. they said the ruins still smoked, though she had never been close enough to verify it one way or the other. "but if you do, you come and find me. i want to hear all about it." she shrugged her shoulders. "most of the time, people just believe what you tell them. it doesn't occur to them why a lady may be so far from home."
Devani claiming to have traveled with the Dothraki would have been unbelievable, if Gaia had not been entirely prepared to be surprised by the Lady now. She stepped a little closer again, eyes narrowing. Focussing barely, she could hear an echo of something. It was too loud in the room, but Gaia could almost imagine there to be the sound of hooves clapping, the ever so faint neighing of a horse. She hummed. "I can imagine that."
"I'm not just anybody," Gaia responded, confidence seeping from her tone. She believed in enough strange things that nothing could surprise her. All she had to be, was cautious. Turn around at the right moments, be cautious and satiate her curiosities without causing casualties. "I would return."
A low sound of consideration sat in her throat. "The world is a dangerous place for a Lady. I'm surprised the key is to pretend you are not one."
