@oraclespokenโโย :ย ย ย Delicate hands upon fragile petals, handling them as if they would disappear into the winds. Her song stops as steps neared. Lunafreya rises and looks to a nervous Maria accompanying the scarlet stained woman. "Oh, Commodore Highwind," she greets with a nod. Aranea as she knows her, has made a name for herself within the Niflheim army. She's heard Ravus speak of her many times before. "Is something the matter?" Lunafreya asks despite sensing a hint of the plague of stars lingering around her.
ย ย ย ย ๐๐ท๐ด ๐ต๐ธ๐ป๐ด๐ ๐พ๐๐ ๐พ๐ต ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐พ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ ๐ป๐ธ๐บ๐ด ๐ด๐
๐ด๐๐๐พ๐ฝ๐ด ๐ด๐ป๐๐ด in fleet of airships as they come in to dock โโ twenty-minute grace period to retrieve their things & clear out.ย they have sped to the manor in the nick of time.ย ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, pelting her calming prairies & valleys into a precarious landscape.ย fleuret aides awaiting in the distance by the vast manorโs entrance that has poured out from their stations ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ for such an โunannouncedโ visit.ย unease begins to swirl in the air toward the sudden occupation of men donning imperial military vestments gradually MARCHING IN CADENCE & eventually spanning the length of improvised landing strip. three rows of mercenaries stand, unmoving.ย at her rear, biggs & wedge.ย mid-stride instructs them to wait by the ships.ย & then saunters across grassy fields segmented by asphalt walkway en-route to mortared stone staircase, ๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ & ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ against fields of cerulean flower stalks carrying with it a sweet perfume in ๐ผ๐ต๐น๐ฌ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ต๐ป๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ผ๐บ๐ป๐บ. & smells also faintly of ferment & rain that is about to fall.ย there is a sense of richness about fenestala manor that reminds her of imperial cityย โโย of the upper-tier stuff, gold leaf accents, conical spire rooves, towers aplenty.ย it is...ritzy.
once at the gate, aranea exchanges a few words with the steadfast man of a guard on duty.ย from the perception of the fleuret attendants, what was said must ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐, because he powers the gateโs doors open with a herculean force.ย ย
in the foyer of the manor, aranea watches activity increase as though sheโs kicked a beehive.ย many pairs of eyes of staff alike settle on her in passing โโ some with scrutiny, others with curiosity.ย fortunately, aranea finds that she does not need to stand ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ฒ & ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ & idiotically next to a large flowerpot while being watched because no sooner is she approached by a woman ; the skin on her neck cracked with age & ๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.ย her grey hair is combed ( rather, heat styled ) to an immaculately neat bun & there is something so delicate yet regal about her.ย perceptive blue pools of sight ๐ต๐ป๐ธ๐ฒ๐บ๐ด๐ ๐พ๐ต ๐ณ๐ธ๐๐๐๐ธ๐ด๐ while she greets aranea as graciously as a woman of her age can muster ; a grace that is bone deep & practically ingrained into her DNA. aranea, ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐, coughs up a nicety in the form of a polite dip of the head in kind to the woman who introduces herself as โmariaโ, already deducing THE DRAGOONโS IDENTITY with contextual clues & her political savvy. her body language is one which suggests aย โwalk & talkโ session.ย ย
following maria, whose silken brocade fabrics of skirtsโ hemline lick the back of her ankles in stride, she carefully explains the reason for her visit through the ๐ด๐จ๐น๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฌ๐ซ ๐ฏ๐จ๐ณ๐ณ๐บ of the manor : during a daemon-hunting assignment near the vesperpool, one of her men & youngest of her rag-tag unit, drummond was caught unawares & pinned to a nidus which was ultimately destroyed, but a remnant of it remains lodged into his shoulder, infecting him with its dark elements known as STARSCOURGE & has been spreading since.ย like any communicable illness, he is isolated on one of the airships.ย ๐๐โ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ since & he requires assistance โlike yesterdayโ.ย assistance that only one known individual on this gods-forsaken rock can provide.ย
the governess doesnโt say much for the duration ; however it can readily be perceived by the downturned line of her lips that she is ๐ณ๐ธ๐ถ๐ด๐๐๐ธ๐ฝ๐ถ it all.ย it is an austere understanding that the situation is dire.ย what aranea ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ is that a promise has been made to drummond that he will receive the proper care & be ready to go back into the field in no time. & if not...?ย swallows hard at merely the thought she is actively in denial of.
aranea stops behind a large, carpeted doormatย โโ floral art nouveau designs embroidered.ย it matches the banister & matches the poise of the woman who is engrossed in flower arrangement on the other side of the already pried-open ๐ซ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฉ๐ณ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ถ๐ถ๐น๐บ.ย she settles a hand to her hip & stares at the doorโs threshold, to maria pouring past it & then to the oracle who in duality to her dark clothing wears clean ivory linen. ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ & ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐.ย ancient, but drawing in desperately an aura of security & comfort. the fragrance thatโs greeted her is delightful, like a MELODIOUS tune.ย ( unnervingly calm โโ even by her standards. ) she stays like that & can imagine lunafreya doing the same in their equivalent introductions.
โ princess, โ comes her voice, a tonal rasp adding to her dark mystique.ย coupled with a nod of her own,ย โ didnโt mean to shake things up around here by my impromptu visit, but itโs pretty urgent...โ
โ iโve got a guy on deck whoโs in pretty bad shape. think you can take a look at him? โย