Helayne Ilirium It had been hours since the party had dissolved into chaos, she could still hear the slow creep of panic as it had wend its way through the crowd on hushed whispers. She’d hurried to a guard, letting him know the condition of one of their guests of honor. Everything had happened rather quickly then. Guards had swarmed up the stairs, others hurried to find healers, more began to secure exits. She’d been pushed out of that hallowed inner circle, along with most of the other lower class she assumed. She’d seen others being dragged off down darkened corridors and had a brief moment of concern. Of course they’d want to interrogate and seek out who would dare attack the revered noble families. While they struggled to gain control of the situation, Hel had made her way through the darkened and empty gardens to Freya. The bay mare seemed to sense the growing tension and had raced through the dark on wings. Halfdan was waiting in the soft light of a lantern when she’d made it to his cobbled street, concern etched into his weathered features. Ghost lay at his side, golden eyes lighting at the sight of her. ”I’ve heard whispers…” he’d spoken in hushed tones, as though the guards were close on her heels. She slid from the mare’s back, coiling the dark fabric of her gown into her hand, her other reaching for the tall angular head of the wolf as he came to press into her side. They made their way quickly into the barn, dimming the lantern as they went. ”Someone poisoned the wine…” she’d answered, frustration and concern edging her tone. She thought of August's wide and dull gaze, the way he slumped in his seat struggling to find words. Was he okay? She wanted to return to him, but she’d given him what aid she could in those quick brief moments. He now had the finest healers in the kingdom available to him at his side. There was little more she could offer him now. ”It’s not safe for you to be around those people,” the venom in Halfdan’s voice drew her back to the low lit barn. ”It’s not my place to tell you what to do, Hel… but this is a world far different than ours. Poisons,” he scoffed in disgust. ”The people here have no honor. They don’t fight hand to hand. It’s done with rumor and words and cowardly ways like poison.” Her nerves bristled in defense of… who? She had no one here, had no place here. There was none she truly owed her loyalty to. In truth she agreed with him. There were not many she’d met here that she’d respected. ”You’re right, it’s not your place. I’ve not forgotten where we are… Here, let me do that,” she stepped forward to take hold of the mare’s reins, interrupting Halfdan's attempt to tend to her, who was snorting her annoyance at his closeness. ”Very well,” he gave a half hearted smile, equal parts sad and angry. ”You’re welcome to stay here, as always. It’s probably safer for the night at least. I’m sure patrols will be out searching the streets.” With that he’d headed into the house. Hel made quick work removing the tack from Freya, brushing out her dappled coat. The distraction was welcomed, keeping her occupied and diverting her mind from all that had happened through the night. There was no such luck though when she found herself curled in the darkness of Halfdan’s spare room. The sparse room was overly warm, its walls close to the dying heat of the forge outside. The mattress beneath her was nicer than anything she’d slept on in… well she didn't really know. Ghost was curled up at her feet, the heat of his back pressed against her. He growled his annoyance as she tossed and turned in the small bed. How long had it been since she’d slept inside four walls, she thought. So used to the tent or the open skies of the wilderness she so often called home. She found it suddenly stifling. Her mind was racing over the night, familiar faces coming and going, stranger ones that she didn’t know or had just met. The stranger in the greenhouse, who had somehow seemed familiar in a way as well. Her encounter with August's betrothed. August’s ruby gaze, growing dull and weak… She sat up suddenly, a light sheen of sweat dampening her bare skin, long silver hair clung to her. She stretched, pulling at the taught scarred skin of her back as if it could loosen the tension there. She couldn’t stay there anymore. Pulling on a light tunic and her leather leggings, she laced her boots quickly, tucking silver blades into each one, and moved towards the door on silent steps. ”Come on,” she whispered to the wolf in the dark. True to his name, he moved on silent paws at her side as they made their way out into the cold night air. Hel felt the cool air against her heated skin and instantly took a calming breath, her hand lacing into the wolf’s thick silver fur. Even in the stench of the city, she found the open space far more calming than the cramped walls of the house. Quickly she made her way through the darkness back in the direction of the estates of the Odersten. The night was eerily quiet after the events of the evening, too many afraid of what may happen if they were caught lurking after the attack on the nobility. The few faces she did pass were bartering mostly in gossip and whispers, wondering at who may have died and how they may be able to take advantage of the situation. Though she got a few dark leers from the shadows, no one made a move towards her with the tall beast at her side, his fur bristling defensively. It was not hard to find his home. There were a few dark carriages she’d seen the physicians take, a heavy guard presence surrounding the estate. Slipping her way into the gardens, the wolf close at her heels she made her way into a servants entrance and up the small stairway. It opened into an ornate hallway, the thick carpet dulling the sound of her boots as she made her way down it. A heavy door with medical supplies resting on a small end table gave away who must be inside. She reached for the decorative knob and suddenly paused. What if there were guards inside? What if his betrothed was at his side? How would that look if Hel just walked in like she’d done it for years. Should she knock? She looked down at the wolf at her side who cocked his head in a curious angle, tail swaying as if he could give her an answer. He seemed to give her a look to just get it fucking over with when footsteps down the hall made the decision for her. Without another thought, she opened the door and made her way inside, whispering into the dim candle light, ”August?”

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Everything after Helayne’s return became a blur. One known disappearing down the hall almost as swiftly as she’d reappeared, that fleeting familiarity ushered away by encroaching figures. Beasts hardly trusted as visages lay twisted within the hound’s eyes while they spoke in foreign weaving tongues. It left unease to fester anew as this morphed stranger rushed to look him over with marks of falsified concern. Lips wanted to curl upon each unrecognizable phrase, the desire snarl like the wolven blood within implored him to in hopes of frightening off the unknown the moment cool fingers touched upon heated skin.

However, no matter what brewed beneath the surface one could make hollow threats, empty promises as senses waned. Little energy left to carry out a snap of fangs or even a garbled protest of being whisked away alongside this assigned presence. One proclaimed as the best in attendance but Augustus found such phrases hard to believe when it lay behind the haunting visage of unfamiliarity. Outlandishness made ever more monstrous by the accursed poison coursing through his veins, muddling the mind and plaguing it with everlasting hallucination. He didn’t want to go with this creature.

Hadn’t what Helayne done been enough?

Apparently not according to what one could register from the tongues of beasts. Scoff issued toward the remnants of bitter tincture even as it churned the goat’s stomach and flooded his jaws with an excess of saliva. His own tongue briefly pressing between teeth as he swallowed back that rising urge but little else of these stranger’s crafted phrases reached his ears upon the application of additional mixtures. Those which quieted any wild thoughts and allowed the hound to slip into blissful oblivion. A journey home, any treatments applied after the fact, barely small pieces of it all piercing the fog until a greater consciousness stirred.

Thoughts tangling together and fighting for understanding all while dulled senses reached for whatever could be grasped in way of scent or sound knowing full well sight may still be unreliable. Especially as it fell upon the very same ‘healer’ that had been beheld back within the study. Fixation found upon the entity. It was exhausting dealing with this beast, assurances that he was fine now seemingly falling upon deaf ears. All of it brushed aside as the supposed fixer refused to be run off so easily. Though he wanted this one gone yet before any more even resembling words could bubble from within the goat’s throat it was another’s soothing lyrics which filled the air.

Insistence hailing from the keeper Ajax that he could take it from here. The worst was over with after all for one had already given a supposed antidote, herbal remedies lay combined with the steady thrum of the vampric’s own blood weave. Magic tingling beneath August’s skin as it delved further than any physician’s touch dared. Coiling within sinew and pulsing with each beat, sending a strange yet pleasant warmth to radiate against flesh. It helped to soothe what the doctor could not. If anything more arose Augustus trusted Ajax to assist, to handle things as he’d done so many times before as finally the mysterious figure fled upon the near silent click of the door.

Relaxation gradually creeping in as he was left in peace, however, such a thing was not meant to last as ears swiveled toward the slow groan of hinges. Lyrics nearly snapping to tell the healer off if already they attempted to return. Only to fall quiet before anything more than a tongue’s click could escape him. Perfumes of one known lacing the air, a being scented but a few hours prior. Her whisper like a melody as it called out in question against the low light… but what was she doing here? Lest this was just another trick of the mind. Mockery of the senses attempting to lure him into stupidity of talking with ghosts.

His own askance never fleeing his lips as a rosen gaze lingered upon the doorway. Yet it was not only he who looked to her then as maned feline and the antlered guardian’s sights fixated upon a her. A smile ticking at the corner of the damned’s lips as he took in the faint familiarity held in a face’s contours. In that instance Ajax would say nothing but offer a slight nod to the woman as he stood to leave. Though when he is within easy earshot, as he moves past, the vampire leans in. Issuing whispered warning, “Be on your best behavior for me now, hm? Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

‘Heimdall Ilirium,’ a name spoken within her mind alone as crimson gaze razed over features known, certainty in it now when taking in the cocktail of natural perfumes which emanated from her skin. From one who heeded the call of a king’s decree. A calling mimicking the ways it had once boomed from the maw of the grand marshal, lyrics from a time when both had seemingly answered a summons beneath another’s name. Ajax offers her nothing more than a warm smile then, the same fanged grin given with a bow seized in hand.

Silent acknowledgment before stepping across the threshold and securing the door behind one August apparently knew. Post taken up along the other side with intent to stand guard. Keep the ‘riff raff’ out for he knew the goat to loath the hounding presences of those a family had temporarily assigned to the estate. Merely something to keep up an image when they had cared not for such precautions in times past. Besides, a lot of good those stationed here did if the silver haired woman and her gargantuan canine were able to slip in unseen for none rushed the halls in efforts of stopping a possible intruder come to finish the job.

Utterly useless.
At least this one didn’t seem to pose too much of a risk.

Within, among a guardian’s departure, it left the hound wholly alone with one known in mostly passing. Dressed down compared to the fabrics which had once draped across her frame with swooping dips though in these moments he was no different for all fanciful garb adorning him had been stripped away. Replaced by the silken robes typically slept in though it would hardly spark a sense of shame as a small huff of laughter fled his lungs. Arms crossing lightly after pushing himself up to better lean against the headboard, “Helayne? You’re a sight for sore eyes but please t-tell me no one saw you come in. Other than our darling Ajax of course, I don’t think I can take much more of their nagging.”

For it was hardly a genuine sense of worry which echoed from within the medic. Even before hearing her answer a hand motions to invite her to sit upon the plush trappings of a bed. A place he didn’t wish to remain but it was still difficult to stand without proper assistance or leverage. Those same digits half-heartedly waving at the big cat lounging against the oversized mattress, a beast casting a wary glance toward not only the woman but the behemoth hound who crept at her side. Rumble of warning rising within the saber tooth’s throat yet it only coaxed fingers to wind within that thick mane in quiet assurance. “Don’t mind Jafar. He just doesn’t want to share with your friend there,” and as if proving his point the big cat leaned into his touch before relenting and moving to sprawl over the foot of the bed. Ensuring that the ‘intruders’ wolf could not fit without risk of catching a lion’s claw.

Helayne Ilirium As she stepped into the doorway she was greeted by a familiar but unexpected face. Blazing crimson eyes swept over her, a delighted smirk danced upon his lips, revealing the peak of twin fangs. She didn’t know his true name, only as the man who had taken August’s when they had both answered the summons for the draft. She was more surprised to see one of the damned within the house of the wolf. He made his way closer, leaning towards her as he made his exit, ”Be on your best behavior for me now, hm? Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” His comment was met briefly by a half amused smile of her own before she felt that invisible touch briefly against her mind, his voice whispering to her as if it was her own conscience, ‘Heimdall Ilirium.’ Hel felt her heart kick up its pace and suddenly slam to a halt against her rib cage all at once, ice flooding through her veins, raking its cold talons down her spine, her scars suddenly too tight. She didn't dare move or acknowledge it, watching as he closed the door behind him. She felt a brush of hackled fur at her side, Ghost moving closer, sensing her sudden distress. Her fingers laced within it gently, savoring the familiarity and safety the great beast offered. He knew who she was now, and though she didn’t know his name, she at least knew they had a similar falsehood. Trying to distract herself she looked back towards the bed to see August, awake and mostly whole it seemed. He was pulling himself up from the bed, leaning back against the ornate headboard. She breathed a sigh of relief to see him seemingly more himself. ”Helayne? You’re a sight for sore eyes but please t-tell me no one saw you come in. Other than our darling Ajax of course, I don’t think I can take much more of their nagging.” Allowing her tension to ease she moved closer to the bed as he waved her closer, taking a seat at the edge of it near his feet, one lean limb resting atop the other. ”No one saw me, nothing to worry about.” she offered a soft smile, looking him over carefully, resisting the urge to touch him to feel for the fever that had plagued him. ”You look much better than last I saw you, you had me a bit worried. How are you feeling?” The soft snarl of the cat drew her attention, the great beast’s wild eyes resting on Ghost who stuck close to her side, his hackles raised. She could feel him press his body to hers protectively, even as she reached to touch his shoulder, trying to ease his own tension. ”Don’t mind Jafar. He just doesn’t want to share with your friend there.” Two more opposing beasts she was not sure she could have found. She signaled to Ghost, who reluctantly lowered himself to the ground, leaning his weight into her leg draped over the edge of the bed. ”I don’t blame him, Ghost will behave,” she gave the silver wolf a look, who chuffed in annoyance at the sound of his name. She looked back to August, her gaze still roving over him for any signs of illness or distress as she spoke, ”I’m sorry I couldn’t stay… They started arresting and dragging people away but I came back as quickly as I could.”

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Stirring tensions radiated from where one stood at the doorway even after the damned had passed her by. The seconds ticking by as not only she but the behemoth at her side appeared to bristle while there lingered uncertainty on just what brought such a reaction to surface assumptions lie upon the very nature of the vampiric. Ajax’s crimson stare and the jut of pointed fangs hard features to miss whenever a smile flashed so brightly. A part of him wished to say something, another to hold his tongue yet an utterance slips free, “I don’t know what he did but he doesn’t mean any harm.” Or at least he had never seen the man act against any who were not deserving, “Helps keep things running around here.”

Rosen sights flickering briefly between her visage and the hound which stalked just behind her step. His own ears turning though it is not until her weight settles upon the bed that he speaks further. Assurances and her own askance bidding a soft huff of laughter from his lungs. Good. The last thing he wanted was for attending guard to rush in and ruin whatever semblance of peace was left in this house. “Definitely better, everything’s still a bit fuzzy,” it didn’t look as it should with the figures still creeping upon peripherals or twisting the very visage he attempted to behold.

Focus not perfect but far more accurate than it had been behind dilated pupils, “But there’s no need to worry. It will all return to normal in the next day or so.” At least such had held true when it came to lower doses of the presumed affliction. Belladonna those echoing voices had claimed. Sedation and hallucination in lower dosage, death whenever that fine line was crossed. One teetered over in abundance this night it seemed from what all had been grasped between flashes of consciousness yet the full truth was still unknown. Yet before a question could lace his tongue it was silenced by a jealous feline.

A small smile touching his lips at the way the snowy hound pressed to her leg protectively as that familiar flare of tension thrummed against the senses anew. This time it came from the wolf. Sights momentarily gluing upon the creature as fingers laced within Jafar’s coat, a morphed purr rolling within the saber’s throat as limbs stretched nearly pressing to Helayne’s own leg as if to bid her to move before curling back up. But as Hel offered apology that smile began to fade, arrests and questioning no doubt a show for he knew at least one of those figure heads cared little for what transpired. Valerius would no doubt proclaim it deserving, no matter who fell.

Though it hardly echoed upon his tone, “Don’t apologize. Any delay was not your fault,” and affliction was his own for so readily believing what lay out for all was safe. “These sorts of things happen,” more often than he cared to admit, however, the readiness they seemingly held in issuing arrests left the goat doubting they truly cared to find the truth behind it. Eager to take whatever confession may fall first to pin the blame and proclaim a sense of justice - no matter the others innocence - for he assumed none of higher standing had registered as potential targets on those radars. “Did you happen to get a good look at any they questioned? Or did they have a theme of just who was supposedly to blame?”

Helayne Ilirium Helayne watched the vampire close the door soundlessly behind him, a tension settling in every muscle. She didn’t trust their kind, having endured too many nightmares wrought by them. Her scars burned along her back with the memory, recalling vivid and faint details, reminding her what it meant to be close to one of them. Her skin felt too tight, she felt her shoulders shifting and stretching as if she could loosen it. What did it mean for one of them to be here though? ”I don’t know what he did but he doesn’t mean any harm. Helps keep things running around here.” She turned back to face August, meeting his crimson gaze curiously. ”It’s.. Okay. I think we’ve met before…” She tried to brush off the strangeness of it, moving closer into the room. ”Definitely better, everything’s still a bit fuzzy.” he replied on his welfare, her gaze moving over him still, seemingly all in one piece. “But there’s no need to worry. It will all return to normal in the next day or so.” She nodded, smiling slightly. ”I’m glad, I’m sure with time and rest.” She confirmed, a saying she often heard her mother say. She ignored the slight tremor that moved through her chest at the memory of it. Instead her gaze dropped to the dark paw of the feline, moving his way closer. She didn’t flinch nor offer to move for the beast, but she could feel the wolf at her side’s golden gaze steadily watching. ”Don’t apologize. Any delay was not your fault. These sorts of things happen.” At that she felt her smile slip, her gaze going back into that careful mask. ”Someone tries to murder you frequently?” She’d heard stories of course of the barbarity of court. How they tried to disguise it with hidden methods such as poisons and accidents, all the while cursing those beneath them for the same vulgar nature they all had. There was much she did not know about August, but still she wondered who could be targeting him and why. ”Did you happen to get a good look at any they questioned? Or did they have a theme of just who was supposedly to blame?” Hel thought of the few she’d seen dragged off, mostly common folk who had taken the chance to come for food, wine and warmth. A night to pretend they were not trapped amidst a war. Other’s she’d seen practically dissolve to shadows, one moment there and then gone the next… ”I suppose anyone who didn’t belong normally, lower classes… Any they took for foe or on suspicion of working for the Queen, vampire or otherwise.” She shrugged slightly, thinking over the faces. She didn’t know anyone’s name in particular, having seen most of the nobles ushered deeper into the safety of the house. ”Do you have any idea who did this?”

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Oh? She’d met him before? August never did pry into Ajax’s affairs whatever transpired outside of these very walls was never any of his business, he didn’t need to know every aspect of the other man’s life. But one could not deny brewing curiosity of just where they might have crossed paths though it is an question which fails to leave his lips as more immediate matters bid for focus to cling upon the present. Issue assurance over recovery and the sudden absence, there was nothing to worry about on those fronts. Not until another query fills the air that is and for a moment he pauses. That rose tinted stare lingering upon brilliant cobalt as those silent seconds ticked by.

Perhaps he’d said too much yet not enough all at once in those brief hopes of brushing things aside. The very same desire rising, flooding his thoughts with notions to just sweep this askance under the rug. Play it off as something of little important for these things did happen. Surely all had heard the fanciful tales over the fickle natures of nobility. The underhanded methods many thought to employ in hopes of gaining higher standing for themselves, bring competition or merely one seen as distasteful to their own whims to simply vanish. Acts he cared not for yet unlike so many others he did not vie for a position higher than what birth alone had granted.

Jawline tensed as fangs pressed against one another in internal debate before it all lay swallowed back with a huffed titter. Falsified amusement in the matter as it harshly tugged at the careful guards to festering anxieties, “Hardly.” Phrase strained yet plagued with that forced laughter and while part of him wished to just move past it another pierce knew such claims were hardly satisfactory. They were not likely to be believed. Softened gaze averted from one which grew more serious, “But I won’t lie to you and say this was the first time. Just a far different method.” Mark of weaponry still twisted flesh in silent reminder of those attempts, at least poison would be less likely to leave a permanent stain.

Fingers absentmindedly wove though Jafar’s mane, coaxing a steady rumble within the oversized feline’s throat. Diversion helping to soothe rising nerves before focus was allowed to return, linger upon Helayne and the beast which peered from her own side. “My father has made enough enemies to last a lifetime and being a part of his family marks me as the ‘next best thing’ when they are unable to reach him,” take out a supposed successor when Augustus knew Valerius would sooner pass it all to a stranger if that man’s blind quest for immortality could not be reached. Ears preened back at the thought until another query fled in quiet bid for distraction.

Another met with dissatisfaction despite knowing she may have seen little of the guard’s acts or supposed arrests and interrogations. Those lyrics soon beckoning for his own thoughts over the matter and yet he knew no more than she did. Merely held a few more assumptions, “No and the guard pinning after those seen as beneath them helps very little. Tension between nations suggest the Queen’s doing on such a grand scale, however, a noble who believes they’ve been scorned is just as likely to have plotted this and would readily hire another to carry it out. Can’t get their own hands dirty you know, wouldn’t want to spoil their precious public image and all that nonsense.” And instead point the law toward those more desperate, those ever so willing to take on the task no matter what it may cost them for a chance at monetary gain.

if you wanna know specific scars she could see just slap me on discord lmao

Helayne Ilirium He seemed to weigh his words against her question, his fangs protruded, pressing into his bottom lip in thought. How honest to be perhaps, or the very real threats his family faced as part of their everyday life. The country was also at war, she supposed. Death threats seemed maybe the least of their worries with what lingered at the borders. ”Hardly,” he breathed through a soft laugh, though she felt it was more to try and put her own thoughts at ease. ”But I won’t lie to you and say this was the first time. Just a far different method.” She nodded slightly, her gaze drifting briefly around the room once more, as if to appease herself again that they were truly alone. Hel rolled her ankle that rested beneath the opposite limb, feeling the cold press of her silver dagger, another in the scabbard at her hip. Her gaze moved to the wolf at her side, his ears ever alert as well. August was safe enough for now she thought. ”I assumed it happened of course… I guess it’s just so strange to see it nearly first hand,” Especially to a friend. The words hung on the tip of her tongue, as she met his crimson gaze once more. “My father has made enough enemies to last a lifetime and being a part of his family marks me as the ‘next best thing’ when they are unable to reach him,” he explained further, and she felt a brief moment of disappointment for him and this country she had come to. The culture was so vastly different then the one she had known, the stakes for them different. Back home everything had been survival. They had depended on their community greatly. It wasn’t that arguments never happened, everything was just so much more open in the mountains she supposed. ”I’m sorry to hear his crimes have made you a target as well. I’m glad you are okay though,” she tried to smile, though some part of her felt silly to do so. He was just poisoned, she nearly saw him die. The what if’s tumbled through her mind in a blur she tried so suppress. ”No and the guard pinning after those seen as beneath them helps very little. Tension between nations suggest the Queen’s doing on such a grand scale, however, a noble who believes they’ve been scorned is just as likely to have plotted this and would readily hire another to carry it out. Can’t get their own hands dirty you know, wouldn’t want to spoil their precious public image and all that nonsense.” She nodded, frowning in thought as she tried to think through who may have caused this, who had the most to gain. ”A gathering of so many seems a good target for these enemies you mentioned, but also the Queen. Sending the country into chaos without some of its military leaders would certainly cause some delay…” She bit her tongue on further musings, thinking only of the rumors and stories she’d heard. The countryside was full of folktale and fables. That the wolves fought more directly for their ranks in challenges, that the King was a wolf as well. Poison seemed wholly against their nature, but she supposed these were also darker times.

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