darkness of the world. @tenebricm - Tumblr Blog

GENERAL INFORMATION || CALIGO VELARE

#divinehqtask01 #{ blood of shadows. }#about.

Mateo listened to his advisor's words with interest. He was right, Mateo couldn't rush this. He couldn't just give up hope that one of his children would marry into a well established house, or even the Lunablossoms. His eyes lingered on Nyra and Rowan, his daughter married for love, never entertaining the thought of being matched to someone of his choosings. He knew that she was happy.

He wrestled with what to do with his youngest, Anabella. She was so eager to please him and to marry someone he saw fit. He turned to Caligo. "Do you think it is a mistake trying to marry them off into well established houses?" He said emphasising established. A silent reference to the Lunablossoms. The youngest was the only one not yet wed, his last chance.

"I see Nyra and her marriage, a marriage of love, and I admit it has me questioning the plans I have put into action. The bonds I hope to forge between our House and the others. Instead, should I be teaching my children to guard their heart for the right person?"

He thought of his own marriage. It was no secret that he held little to no romantic love for his wife. He admired her, and he cherished her as a dear friend. But love? No. He never felt that. He knew he would miss her if she were to pass, but it would not be as shattering as picturing one of his children. Though, the love between a father and his children was a different creature altogether.

"I worry that I have been teaching them wrong. Setting them up for an lifetime of mediocracy, when I could have taught them and trained them to expect a life of wonder." Mateo never spoke like this. He never questioned his plan. However, tonight, with what seemed like love in the air between married matched, he questioned all of it.

tenebricm

-- CLOSED --

#c: mateo #{ interactions. }#closed.

heofonlicfm

Carlos thought over the words of the other. To love was a great adventure. It was something he wanted to experience. Even with the description of not being able to move on after losing someone so dear, he felt it was something that would bring joy in his life. He chewed on his lip absentmindedly, something he did when he was deep in thought. "Do you regret loving them?" He asked in a soft voice. "Do you feel your life would have been better without experiencing that love?"

"I feel as if I'm missing something. Not that I believe falling in love will complete me, but I'm starting to feel like having someone by my side would be a journey I am ready to take." He looked the other in their eyes and there was an ember behind Carlos' eyes. An ember of hope, of a great quest he was about to embark on.

"But I fear that I will not be able to love the other enough. I was never taught how to love. Not my own parents seemed to love each other, but rather were united in a common goal, to obtain power. I have no need for power, and such am a disappointment to them." He wondered then if he had different parents if his life would be different. If he had been raised in a loving household if interacting with others wouldn't be so hard.

"I'm also...a bit difficult to talk to." he admitted. "I wonder if anyone is willing to overlook that part of myself and know the person I am. I tend to spark feelings of friendship and very seldomly that of love." He took a moment and sighed. "Perhaps I am to remain alone."

tenebricm

DID HE REGRET HIS ONE GREAT LOVE? Of course not. If he was given the chance to repeat it, he would do it all over again, heartache or not. It had given him his son and a few long, good years with his late wife. Such memories he'd always cherish. "I don't regret it. If I had not had it, I would have been different. Perhaps better, perhaps worse. But, everything is for a reason and so she was a reason, or part of it. Never regret the past, it molded the present and foretold the future." he replied.

ah, he understood that.

Caligo hummed lightly, murky yellow-green eyes fixing upon the portrait again. Everyone had the same misconception of love. That it had to be taught by someone else. No. No, no, no. It had to be learned, but learned by oneself, alone, on their own. No one gave him a cheat-sheet on how to behave in a marriage. It was trial and error, though he was proud to say he only erred a little in their early years. Mere misunderstandings and lover's quarrels.

"It will not complete you, but it will expand you. Love is an appendage that grows from within, and never one shivers. It can never be fully removed, but it can be poisoned." he said, then: "But, it's not something to be taught by others. You can see the examples of various romances and learn what you would like - how you'd behave and what you'd never compromise on. Ill relationships and good ones, they are all lessons to be learned and mastered. You do not love power, but there is something else you may love. Just find someone whose love aligns with yours."

a pause, then;

"being difficult and remaining alone is not that bleak a future. There are worse things than loneliness." Caligo tsked, before adding, "If it is any consolation, I am very difficult to talk to. And I am choosing to remain a widower for life, but my son - I would wish for him to find a match, but if he doesn't... it is not the end of the world. Sometimes, being alone does not mean you are lonely - it just means you are complete in a different way."

#c: carlos #{ interactions. }

grdenwood

Seeking refuge in an strangely unoccupied corner of the ballroom Rowan let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. He was already beginning to regret coming, but he could turn down a royal invitation. His family was too close to the Queen and unless he was on death's doorstep there was not a way to decline this event. It wasn't the party itself that was the cause of regret though. The Queen's efforts had definitely paid off. Everything from the choice in music down to the hors d'oeuvre served showed her wealth and prestige. It was the smell radiating off his fellow attendees. Some wore potent perfumes and fragrances while others he doubted even showered beforehand. It was all too much. @tenebricm

tenebricm

FINALLY - A CORNER LEFT MOSTLY UNOCCUPIED IN THE SHADOWED PART OF THE ROOM. He could slip into the darkness unnoticed and relax for a moment, exhaling deeply in order to relax the muscles and the mind.

he detested this thing.

The balls, the feasts, the chatter, the gossips, the annoyingly, odiously brightly dressed attendees. Ay, this was a nightmare, though he had been prompted to join and be on his best behavior.

at least no one was testing him - yet.

As Caligo relaxed in the darkness, another seemingly had the same idea. Oh, well. It was one of those nights. "Enjoying the crowd, are we?" he asked the other and leaned against the cold wall of the room. "I don't think I can stomach yet another indelicate drag of the silverware against the porcelain. Do these nobles have manners?" he asked.

#c: rowan #{ interactions. }

heofonlicfm

Mateo gave a small defeated look. He had not managed to make any alliances so far. Though that is something that is hard to do at a ball where everyone could hear you plot. Even more so when the topic of conversation would be the Queen herself.

"I fear tonight proves a fruitless endeavor. I've yet to find a good match for my pups." He said.

Mateo looked around the room. He saw the low number of werewolves amongst the nobles. He had been forced to even allow his own kin to marry outside of the species. Something that has never been done.

The alpha werewolf gave a sigh. When did the Realm change so much?

tenebricm

CALIGO COULD HARDLY SEE THE POINT IN RUSHING ANYTHING. The only thing haste will do is to get them thrown off course and, unlike cats, wolves seldom landed on their feet unharmed. Pursing his lips together for a brief moment, the advisor narrowed his gaze, rounding the room in a mildly disinterested, but attentive glare.

at least no one openly stared in their direction.

"Often one cannot immediately see the fruit of their labor. Do you see the seed bursting out of the soil the moment you fertilize it, water it? No. Nature takes time. Tedious tiptoeing around nobles and sucking up to them also, unfortunately, takes time." he spoke, though there was hardly any reasurrance in his words. Yet, the advisor plotted as well - plotted for the Moonfangs, eternally grateful they'd accepted his services when so many other shirked from the dark unseelie.

"If you wish to secure a match with a highly ranked lady for your moon pups, I'd advise you to teach them to woo the heart of their chosen companions, not just their eyes or their minds. The latter two can be reasoned with, but heart remains blind and deaf to logic, common sense and, most of all, rules. Forbid a thing to the heart and it only yearns more." that fact that he was advising the duke of the werewolves how to instruct his son to woo the ladies of the moonball was half hilarious and half very tiresome.

"and above all else, do not hasten anything. - rushing such affairs never proves fruitful on the long run."

#c: mateo #{ interactions. }

heofonlicfm

Carlos turned and faced the other. "I was think about what it feels like to lose someone you love," he said with a thoughtful frown. He wasn't frowning because the other was talking to him, but because he feared he would never know that kind of love.

Most days, he didn't care that he was alone. But today, with all the romance in the air, he couldn't help but feel like there was something missing.

"I beg your pardon, you seem to have caught me in the middle of a difficult thought." He continued. Feeling talkative, he said, "I don't know what it feels like to experience love, and I have no family, so it is difficult for me to understand what the Queen might be going through. How does one continue after losing someone so close?"

tenebricm

HE REMEMBERED THAT FEELING ALL TOO WEEK, EVEN IF IT HAD BEEN OVER A CENTURY ALREADY. Time flies and drones on, simultaneously, an endless ribbon of habit and annoyance woven into an eternal existence.

he had been done with it for a century now.

"All thoughts are difficult when one is unaccustomed to such sorrowful... intermissions." Caligo said, head tilted to the side as the murky yellow-green eyes turned to face the painting again, realizing the words may have come out harsher than he'd intended. "I was referring to a love lost. A sorrowful intermission to the life's happiest moments, though the intermission lasts for an eternity. Those that had known true love and lost it are both the most fortunate and the most miserable of creatures in the existence."

though if anyone else had called him miserable he'd have their heads.

The question left him with a brief pause. How did he move on? Simple. "You don't. There is no moving on, just... sorrow changes it's shape, the blade dulls, but it never dislodges. You find joy in other things. Children. Teaching. Taking care of a pack of pups and advising their very questionable taste in trousers." he added the latter with a petite grin, before the expression fell and feeling in an advising mood, he continued,

"A mellow love is good. One does not have to find the breath-taking, soul wrenching kind of affection and adoration. It will only leave you hallowed out in the end."

#c: carlos #{ interactions. }#wow calm down ray of sunshine.

heofonlicfm

⚜ 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐨 𝐱 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 ⚜

Mateo hated to admit it, but he was impressed with Sofia Lunablossom. The Moon Ball was heavenly. The company, well he could do better. However, he was there on a mission. He wanted to branch out and feel who did or didn't agree with Sofia's reign. He also wanted to find suitable mates for his children. It was no secret that Mateo had a love/hate relationship with Sofia. He wanted to see a werewolf back on the throne. However, with the adoption of three different species, that dream would only be accomplished if he married one of his children into the family. He took his drink and walked around the dance floor before setting his sights on someone. He made his way towards them. With a wolf-like grin he said, "Why, good evening. How are you fairing tonight?"

tenebricm

HE'D BE FARING A LOT BETTER IS HE WASN'T PROMPTED TO BE ON THIS BLASTED BALL TO BEGIN WITH. But, as an advisor to the pack of wolves, he had to go. Who knows what kind of shenanigans the lot of them will fall into if he's not there to side eye them. Not like he had any real sway with the yapping pups, though - he did not fear for Mateo or the more matured wolves to go around howling.

ay, he could already sense another tutoring lesson the moment one of the pups step a toe out of line.

"Thrilled." Caligo retorted, nursing the glass of blood red wine as if it had been a lifeline. Still, he reined in absolute lack of enthusiasm by turning towards the leader of the Moonfang pack. "I do hope you're enjoying yourself." he added.

#c: mateo #{ interactions. }

heofonlicfm

⚜ Carlos x open ⚜

Carlos nursed his drink watching the others dance and mingle around him. He sighed. He wasn't sure why he agreed to attend. He'd rather be at home reading. He walked around the room, trying not to listen in on other's conversations. He wondered why nobles chose to be so careless with their secrets. Anyone could listen in and find dirt. He was a private person, and while he preferred more deep conversations, doing that in the middle of a ball was just plain dumb.

He exited the main ballroom, choosing to explore the palace. He'd only been there a handful of times and was curious what royalty lived like. He walked the corridors stopping to look at a painting of the late King. He'd wondered what it was like to experience love. Everyone knew the queen and kings love. He was lost in thought and didn't hear the person approaching.

tenebricm

A DISTASTEFUL SCOWL HAD SEEMED TO PERPETUALLY ETCH ITSELF ONTO CALIGO'S USUALLY WELL KEPT FEATURES. As far as... soirees go, this one was hardly the worst one out there. At least no one had attempted a felony, but it was still odiously early in the evening.

why did the fell-daemons of the underworld ever prompt him to attend?

Masking a displeased scowl into an, arguably, very sour smirk, Caligo lets out an exasperated sigh into his wine glass. He should have gone for a stronger drink, if he wishes to endure this without playing puppets with the darkness under the tablecloth.

spying an opening to slip away unnoticed, he did not hesitate another second.

A scowl turned into a sigh of relief as he rolled the tension off the shoulders. Finally. Some blasted peace and quiet -- but with approaching footsteps, the relief turned to a sour curl of the lip. Well, at least it was somewhat of a kindred spirit - he doubted anyone who enjoyed these soirees would find themselves staring at the painting of the King.

unless they were trying to curb the queen's graces.

"admiring the paint?" the unseelie chipped in with a smirk.

#c: carlos #{ interactions. }#he's so unserious