[OOM] Eiattu - Royal Apartments

[fighting_mad]

The gathered advisors and aides look very, very wary and are very, very hesitant when Isplourrdacartha calls them inside; they saw the emperor's expression and his bloody mouth when he stormed out. It isn't difficult to put two and two together, particularly after noticing the unnatural bent to two of the empress's fingers.

The look that she skewers the admiral on when the older woman asks if she is alright is more than enough to prevent any further questions.

Plourr finishes the meeting.

Afterward, the admiral pulls her aside and requests further discussion of the speculative points of the Kuati shipyards' bid; she says that she knows that the empress is terribly busy, but asks if the empress will walk a ways with her and debate it.

It isn't til they're nearly right on top of the infirmary door that Plourr recognizes Admiral Almied's diabolical genius; she stops and lowers her eyebrows at the officer, but Almied only smiles and bids her farewell.

Plourr takes the hint.

Comments

[eiattu_pride]

Rial blushes. It isn't much of one but it is there, and Plourr can take some delight in the fact that she's still got it.

"Well - no, I mean, of course not, but still. The principle of the thing."

[fighting_mad]

"I know, I know," she says, and she puts her boots up on the coffee table.

She looks up at him.

"You know, eventually, we are going to have to figure out the question of inheritance."

[eiattu_pride]

Rial half-closes his eyes and puts his fork down, shaking his head.

"I know. Just - not now, I think."

[fighting_mad]

"Okay, then when, Rial?" she says, and to her credit, it's not anywhere near as sharp as it could be. "We can't keep starting to fight and then quitting the conversation."

[eiattu_pride]

"Well, you're right about that." His voice is dry, but when he opens his eyes there's no hint of irritation or malice.

"Why don't we say - tomorrow, around fifteen hundred hours? I don't have anything planned until that meeting with the Planetary Defense Committee, and I don't think you do either."

[fighting_mad]

"You have an addiction to scheduling," she says. "It's very sad.

"If you say I don't have anything going, I'm sure you're right. I have no idea."

(It's agreement.)

[eiattu_pride]

"It's what keeps me going," Rial says, very honestly and with just a hint of a smirk. "I cry if you take my datapad away.

"But," he continues, "that means you have nothing going. Call it a date?"

That's possibly an excessively light-hearted term for what's likely going to be a pretty crazy conversation. And here we mean crazy in the bad sense.

[fighting_mad]

She shoots him a wry look.

"That's not what I'd call it, but sure."

[eiattu_pride]

"It'll be very romantic." His tone is decidedly wry. "We may have to agree on a safeword beforehand."

(possibly he blushes as he says it, just the tiniest bit)

[fighting_mad]

Plourr tries to keep a straight face. She really does.

She even manages it, for about ten seconds.

Except then she cracks up.

"Good strategy," she says. "We'll have to remember that one."

[eiattu_pride]

Rial lets himself grin too, picking up his fork and idly poking it in her direction.

"I'll write it down."

[fighting_mad]

She crooks a finger at him.

"Come here, you big lunk."

[eiattu_pride]

He cocks an eyebrow at 'lunk', but obediently puts his plate and fork to one side before moving forwards, stopping just in front of her with a crooked grin.

"Milady?"

[fighting_mad]

He's crouching in front of her; she lifts her feet off the table and puts them on the floor, and she leans in.

She cups the side of his face in one broad hand, and she presses her closed lips to his.

"We're going to work this out," she says, her eyes steady and her thumb tracing the shape of his cheekbone.

[eiattu_pride]

His eyes soften. For a moment, maybe, it looks like he's going to say something but in the end he just leans forward and kisses her forehead, gently.

"I know," he says, and then reaches a hand up to tug lightly on a handful of her hair. "I love you."

[fighting_mad]

"I know," she says, and the roll of her eyes is light-to-moderate, and balanced by the way she's smiling at him.

A small hand whacks her foot. Plourr looks down.

Ianna stares up at her, expectant and imperious.

"Never can stand not to be the center of attention, can you, princess?" Plourr asks, and she lifts her up into her lap (but Plourr still kisses Rial again, refusing to be hurried).

[eiattu_pride]

Rial breaks away from the kiss after a moment to grin down at his daughter, who's tucked a thumb in her mouth and is peering up solemnly at her parents.

"To be fair, she is royalty."

[fighting_mad]

"What she is is a pain in my neck," Plourr grumbles, but she jiggles Ianna, who happily giggles. "One who," she grunts as she shifts Ianna into one arm, "needs to go to bed ten minutes ago."

She stands up, and kicks Rial's boot lightly with her own. "Eat. I'm not listening to your stomach all night."

[eiattu_pride]

"You should feel privileged to be able to listen to my stomach all night," Rial says, beaming cheerfully, but he gets up anyway and stretches, cracking his back.

"Just let me finish my dinner and I'll give you a hand tucking her in."

[fighting_mad]

"Eat," says Plourr, pointing at him with her free hand as the other supports Ianna, who is clinging to her neck like the little monkey she is. "I wouldn't feel privileged. I'd feel awake, you mynock."

"Baaaaaaa!" says Ianna, and Plourr sweeps into the nursery.