RP:My Favorite Flower Would Be You
Part of the Mearcstapa Arc
Summary: What was supposed to be a cute first date between Kanna and Mathollak devolves into chaos and flirting that might make Delisha blush when Queen Reginae joins them. Reginae mistakenly believes that Kanna is her gift from Mathollak, gets to try a new delicious summer treat, and becomes curious about her new toy. Mathollak senses nothing amiss as the impromptu triad date goes to the Chartsendian Public Gardens to admire the more dangerous flora. Kanna is all over the place as her first date goes terribly awry and ends in her being poisoned and added to a living collection in Alithrya.
Public Gardens
Betraying the mainly elvish blood of the residents the gardens are, in fact, a grove of intertwining trees. People come here to get away from the hustle and bustle of the town and, quite often, the unrelenting sun, seeking cool shade. Some spread blankets on the ground and get out picnics while watching their children on the beach. Others sit quietly, often close to a tree, communing with nature.
Reginae wasn’t a stranger to Chartsend but Chartsend was a stranger to her. The inky black of snails and prophecies twisted the truth of the past until what she remembered and what she imagined were one and the same. She’d tried to come alone but Yozenra, her Queen’s guard, had insisted on coming. Chartsend is where Yozenra had lived with her wife, prior to Pilar’s disappearance. It would be good to visit. Reginae didn’t keep track of any of that. She just strutted around the city on her two humanoid legs in search of a glowy man with an axe (why would she expect something different?). So far, no one she’s asked has seen him. Yozenra stops at a shop to greet the owners but Reginae continues on her own. She had her ring, after all. The bloodstone seems to devour light instead of reflecting it like most stones. She’s not super sure if it does anything but she is sure it’s very interesting. The Queen has a weakness for owning interesting things.
Mathollak has only been to Chartsend once before, and it was for a job. Since then he’s been wanting to come back. So maybe it was a good thing he got his butt beat, otherwise he wouldn’t be here! Plus…he ended up winning the best prize of all. If she shows up that is. If not? He was gonna eat two ice creams instead of one. This long line wouldn’t be for nothing. Besides, someone was bound to snatch him up. His abs of steel may have melted somewhat in the summer heat, but it wasn’t about that. It was about vibes. He was putting out good ones. And, contrasting his usual roughness, he looked fairly neat. His hair was tied back in a bun and he left his weapons and stuff at a Merchant’s guild vault. And so much skin! His light blue button up shirt was beachy, it had white shadows of palm fronds decorating it. But not one single button connected the middle. And his white cotton shorts only went halfway down his thigh, guaranteeing some goofy tan lines in the future. The line shrinks step by step as his mind wanders. “I wonder if that frost giant couple is still around,” he says, fondly remembering another time he got beat up. It was the best way to make friends. Looking around as if he could possibly have missed a couple people 20 feet taller than everyone else. They’re vacation’s probably over by now, they probably went back to Frostmaw a long time ago and…”What flavor would you like, sir?” It’s the end of the line. Good. He didn’t want to finish that thought anyway. “Lemme get uhhhhh two orange dream.” Yeah. The best kind. “Actually no. ONE orange dreamsicle and one stardew melon sherbert.” She was weird. Probably likes weird things too. Meanwhile, Reginae probably passes him, looking for the fighty version of him and not the comfy version. As he walks away from the stand toward the gardens, he realizes his mistake. He now has two ice cream cones, he can’t eat any of them (what if he eats the wrong one?), and it was hot. “I don’t know why anyone eats ice cream in the summer,” he says. “It’s literally the hottest month. They never melt faster.”
Kanna had no idea what to think when she received the invitation from Mathollak. A date in Chartsend? Was this because of her nonsensical commentary at the Blood Bowl? The bardess received plenty of requests for 'dates', usually from drunkards who wouldn't remember speaking to her in the morning, but Mathollak was... Kanna pulls down on the fringe of her wide-brimmed straw hat to hide her blush from the group of people in a line she passes by. Surely, he just wanted something in exchange for the date. A chance to take on the winner in a double-or-nothing? A grandiose piece of equipment worthy of a death knight? Once she passes the group, Kanna lets go of her hat and smooths down the creases in her outfit. A cornflower linen dress drapes her plump form down to her knees, extended outwards with white petticoats beneath, with the ruffles of the off-shoulder design highlighting the freckles along her shoulders. Strapped on her back like a rucksack is Kanna’s heirloom instrument, unable to be left at home due to its quirk of appearing where she is if she moves too far from it; thankfully the lacquered surface and pearlescent flowers on amber stems make the outfit look no less elegant. For a moment, Kanna misses Mathollak as well, having been searching for the telltale scarlet armor or an oversized Delishan axe. If not for his complaining, Kanna might have missed him completely. “Oh!” Kanna turns around, looking at the comfy summer version of the warrior. And she looks, and looks, before turning her reddened face away. No, this was a mistake, she should go back to Vailrkin where it's easier to pretend to be confident because people hate her flirting. The bardic necrobotanist pats her cheeks twice. She’s a bard first. She can still pretend as long as she keeps her expectations on the ground. “Mathollak!” Kanna calls out, loud enough to draw the attention of those nearby, waving to him as she approaches again. “Did I keep you waiting long?” As she approaches, she catches a glimpse of white hair and turns to lock eyes with the Queen of Alithrya in the flesh. “Reginae…?” Kanna’s mind races. Did she read the date wrong? Was Mathollak waiting on Reginae for a date and not her?!
A stark white cat cuts into Reginae's path. They both blink at each other, eyes locked in a telepathic battle of assessment when a voice calls out Mathollak's name. Her head spins, making her the loser of the staring contest, but there would be plenty of time for that later. By Aramoth, how did she miss him? Reginae loops back around towards the name caller. The shifted naga is only certain it's him when the same voice says her name. Another staring contest but Kanna's eyes are more charming by a mile. Clad in a white summer dress with strangely puffy shoulder sleeves and casual matching sandals, Reginae joins the little gathering with a broad smile. Comfy brand Mathollak is momentarily forgotten. "Dearest," she says in a sing-song voice, with no memory of ever having met Kanna before this moment. It will take her a few minutes to recognize Kanna as the person who announced her and Mathollak for their duel in the Blood Bowl. "You are absolutely beautiful." She turns her face to Mathollak, double taking at his attire and squinting at the weird stuff dripping from his hands. "Isn't she just?" Obviously he'll agree. It's a fact, not an opinion. So much so, Reginae's almost forgotten why she's here. Oh right, the letter. After staring almost too long at Kanna, Regi turns her attention back to Mathollak, who looks no less ridiculous than before. "I received your missive..." She says slowly, "...but this isn't quite what I expected." Her eyes focus on the ice cream. "I think your accessories are bleeding." Reginae does not, in fact, know what ice cream is.
Mathollak savors the tastes of both ice creams, pulling one arm close to his face and then the other as the cones sweat rolling rivers of sweetness down onto his hand and wrist. It’s intense, and takes nearly all his focus. But Kanna’s light and flowery voice temporarily distracts him from enjoying his labor (of love) and he spins toward the source. His eyes narrow furtively toward her until he recognizes her. “Oh hello,” he says with a devious smirk, waving one of the cones as a hello. “And call me Mattie, call me Mattie! You sound like my mom or something saying all the syllables like that.” She gets prettier every step closer he takes, probably some kind of bard magic, and the icy torrents flow down to his elbow. “Oh, no I didn’t wait long, I just got these! Pick your favorite.” So generous. But again he’s called away from his duty, by the third. “Regi…?” It really is her. “Wow you came? I can’t believe you came!” Some happy mixture of joy and surprise…but then? Lamentation. Three of them. Two ice cream cones. One tragedy.
“What! You’ve never had ice cream?!” This was amazing and perhaps wonderful news. “Then maybe you should share with us to see if you like it first? Here have a taste, you’ll love it.” Whether she did or didn’t, he knew one thing. “You’re crazy how have you been missing out on ice cream? Right Kanna? Crazy.” The other predicament dawned on him presently, but Reginae prompts a mischievous smile. “Well yeah of course she is!” What was he gonna talk about her like she wasn’t even there? No way. He turns back to Kanna. “I knew you were even when you were sooo far away up in the hostess booth…pedestal…box... Actually,” he looks from Kanna to Reginae and back again. “You’re BOTH beautiful. You know they actually say all the prettiest people live in Chartsend? Big lie, I have proof.” Hopefully someone’s taken some bleedy ice cream away from him by now. “This is perfect isn’t it? Wanna go walk through the gardens? Or straight to the beach? This is gonna be the best day.”
Kanna is normally bewitched by Reginae’s beauty, but up close, she is like a goddess. The two women both have silver-white locks with blue eyes, Reginae being an azure sea while Kanna is a sky of forget-me-nots. But there’s an elegance in the maturity the queen carries in her human form, while Kanna’s slight extra weight still gives her round face a young look that’s criminal to be seduced by. With Mathollak being as ridiculously good looking as he already is on a good day, the people of Chartsend stop to stare at the odd-trio. With Kanna’s face obscured by her hat, people whisper that Mathollak must have asked a pair of sisters on a date. Surely, they were all royalty of some sort? With a sweet smile despite her flushed cheeks, Kanna answers Reginae’s praise. “Not nearly as beautiful as yourself, I love your dress! Oh, you should try it, it's perfect on a hot day.” The bardess looks up at Mathollak as he so casually and confidently praises her, letting out a shy laugh. “You flatter me, Mathollak. You were very handsome on the battlefield too. Almost as handsome as you look right now.” Looking down at the two ice cream cones that Mathollak offers out, Kanna remembers Quintessa’s advice. ‘Always take the offense, dear, just like you would any other victim.’ Kanna speaks up. “I mean, we could always share one. Reginae should get a whole one since it’s her first. I don’t bite anymore, see?” Kanna helps transfer the dripping orange dream ice cream to the naga, then, as if to make her point, she takes the hand that Mathollak carries the stardew melon sherbert in, and licks the drippings off the edge of the cone in one go while he still holds it. -Then- she takes the ice cream. On the inside, she has already died from embarrassment from openly flirting with someone she perceives to be way above her league. “I’ve always wanted to see the famous rose gardens, what do you think, Reginae?”
Reginae smiles with regal grace at Kanna’s compliments. They looked very similar, so it stood to reason they were both exquisitely featured. Mathollak’s surprise is delightful. He really thought she wouldn’t show? They truly are too beautiful, the three of them, to be standing around. They’ll start accruing rabid fans. Regi squints, eyes moving back and forth between Kanna and Mathollak while her brain did foreign, snake math about this equation. His letter is starting to make sense. Perhaps he thought Reginae and Kanna were related in some way, due to their appearances. Was -Kanna- the thing he found of hers that he wanted to keep? The thing he really liked? Reginae’d never be so rude as to turn down such a marvelous gift. A more unhinged smile snakes it’s way into her expression before Kanna can hand over the dripping ice cream cone. "You're too kind." It smells of fruit and cream. The naga’s tilting the seemingly sentient soup, trying to get the best angle for the first attempt at consumption when Kanna starts licking the other cone that her former opponent is holding, while he’s holding it. Reginae pauses, jaw practically unhinged in surprise (and for ice cream logistic purposes). Kanna’s question floats around amid other thoughts and ideas that ultimately settle on her suggestion. For now. She bares her teeth, snapping the ‘head’ of the ice cream cone clean off with a wince. Had she even tasted it, eating so quickly!? “That sounds lovely.” She says to the garden’s. Good to know her future guest enjoys gardens. “We have a marvelous garden at the palace too.” She tacks on, thinking everyone is now on the same page about Kanna being gifted to Reginae. She makes a sweeping gesture with her not sticky hand in the appropriate direction. “After you two.” She wasn’t a monster. If Mathollak would really be pained by his charitable gift to her, she’d see that the pair could spend all the time together they desired first. It would give Reginae time to learn more about her and how to best accommodate her at the palace.
Mathollak was used to being a spectacle, and he could feel the locals and vacationers alike gawking at them with what must be jealousy. And of course, he would be jealous too! Of himself, of Regi, of Kanna…what right did they have to be together in the same place? Mathollak appears to pay them no mind, but actually their stares encourage him. He seems to be an inch taller all of a sudden. He takes Kanna’s compliments in stride too, offering her a sincerely gracious smile as if she just confirmed something he already believed. But then, she penetrates his aloofness. “We could share but…” and he’s gone. Hypnotized as Kanna’s soft pink tongue slides over the creamy dessert in his hand. It was nothing short of heroic that he kept his face slack as excitement rolled through him. Like a charmed snake, his eyes circle her movements. At some point she’s slipped the ice cream out of his hand completely! He turns away. When he looks back, its with curious amusement. Mischievous appraisal. How did she do that? “Hm.” He steals a glance toward Regi to see what she makes out of all this. That’s when she snaps her mouth around the ice cream and disappears it.
His hands clap to his chest in surprise and his yelp is high pitched as he sees her dismember the creamsicle. And then he laughs, sputtering through his pursed lips at first and then full bellied and wide mouthed laughter. “Maybe a little biting is actually okay! That was…efficient.” But it was garden time. Time to explore the gardens. “You have one too?” Mathollak asked Reginae when she mentioned her royal garden. Was it an invitation? He dangled a line out there to confirm. “I hope I get to see it some day.” What a weirdo she is. He still doesn’t know if she likes ice cream or not. “Wait what do you mean us two, aren’t you coming?” He eyes her suspiciously, but he already knows what he’s getting at, and he feigns a revelation. Dramatic gasp, “You’re going to get more ice cream!” He somehow doubted it. Actually, she probably wasn’t as into them as they were into her, and she was making her escape. “Hm. Okay, hurry up though.” He starts to head off to the gardens, if Regi was making her getaway, he didn’t want it to be painful. But suddenly he stops. “Oh! Kanna, wait.” He forgot something. Something big. He slides up close to her and offers his slightly closed hand. A gift? As soon as she’s tempted by whatever it might be, he bends his mouth over their ice cream cone and bites a massive chunk out of it. He flashes her a stuffed, proud grin, and then saunters off to the gardens.
They really are impressive. They have an impossible variety of plants growing. Literally impossible! Vaguely humanoid cacti, some appearing to be caught in the act of running away in a dry desert biome. Why? Bursting out of the rounded end of every limb was a silky pink bloom. Almost crystalline in the way they caught the light. In another part of the garden, a massive white bowl of mottled marble hangs suspended inches off the ground by heavy metal chains. The bowl itself is filled almost entirely with solar flare lotuses that sway ever so slightly on their bed of mineral rich water. The bowl itself swings mildly back and forth like a ponderous pendulum, dragging plump, juicy vines along the ground that spill over the rim. After seeing such impossibilities; bandit cacti, radiant lotuses, frostmawian ferns, greens, purples, yellows, it seems like anything could grow here. Everything must grow here. Except, he thought, for one flower in particular, that only might exist. Still, he disappears into the gardens looking for it.
Kanna’s jaw drops to mirror Reginae’s own just moments before as the naga bites into the icy treat, seemingly unaffected by how cold it is. Perhaps that was one of the lesser known perks of being a naga? “How beautiful it must be, what kind of…” She trails off as Reginae implies that Mathollak and Kanna will be going ahead to the gardens first. That’s right, it was her and Mathollak’s date, after all. There were more questions the bardess wanted to ask of the queen; little does she know that soon, she will have all the time in the world to do exactly that. Kanna looks up when Mathollak calls her attention, and curiosity gets the better of her when he holds up his hand. Yes, it must be a gift. But then he’s leaning in, close, too close. Oh. Oh gods no, was he already going to try to-- “待って待って待って--” She repeats the protest that has slipped into her native tongue feebly as he moves right past her face and to the ice cream cone. It seems that both Delishan reincarnations can barely handle being teased. Her face is bright red as she follows the Axe of Love into the gardens, and barely registers when he disappears behind a floating display of Gualonian mint-lotus. With Reginae having trailed behind them and Mathollak having moved down a path that branches so that Kanna does not know how to follow him, she is left to stand amongst the roses and admire the familiar and novel foliage around her. She stops in front of a display of silver-tipped hellebore and gives them a smile. “Yule Roses. Relieve my anxieties.” She whispers the Larketian translation from her favorite book as she leans down and presses a sugar-stained kiss to their petals. Already, she feels better. “Mathollak? Reginae?” She calls out.
Reginae tucked herself a few human sized paces behind them. She watches over them like a parent supervising their child’s first date. They were truly adorable together. What a delight to find herself in this situation! Brennia would be so pleased to finally have a companion to spend time with, beyond Nadia and Thedez of course. The Snake Queen stops at a pond where an array of lotus flowers huddle together like a group of young human girls with giggly gossip. She dips her hands in the water to remove the final evidence of the iced cream’s existence when she hears Kanna call out to her former opponent and herself. “Just here, lovely.” Reginae raises her voice to call Kanna back towards her. Hopefully, they can gather beside the blooming lotus before Mathollak returns. “Ah, there you are.” Her smile is brilliant. Reginae is genuinely happy they’ve reunited in a very normal, not kidnapping kind of way. Then Reginae fans out her right arm towards the pond beside her. “Tell me, what do you think of these? We have some at the Palace but I’ve been thinking we should add something more exotic.” More mainland. The Queen moves a step closer to Kanna, reaching up with her left hand to lightly touch her shoulder and then letting her hand run down the length of her arm before falling away. “Have you seen anything here that you could show me? I’d love to know what you like.” Her tone is quiet and warm, the lilt inviting Kanna to feel safe sharing her honest opinions with her.
Mathollak encountered plants of vibrant color and energy that bloomed as if they wanted the entire world to see them, their stems were straight and tall, and the sun rays glittered on their petals. Then he found some that seemed to shy away from the sun, nestling their secrets within the fragile enclosure of their unbloomed buds. Their stems arched and drooping. There was another one out there somewhere, one that he’d been looking for. It wasn’t here. It actually didn’t matter though, because eventually he found a sign interrupting another path. It had a danger-skull and read, “Please do not feed the plants!”. A clear warning. He’d heard of plants that eat things other than sunlight, and maybe he’d even seen small flytraps before. This was something else. As he considered the sign, he could feel a warm and balmy breeze coming from the direction of them. Just this proximity caused a bead of sweat to form on his forehead, and he pulled his hair back just to cope. “Gonna have to show the dames,” he says to himself as he spins the sign around. It’s a winding walk that eventually returns him to them, and he doesn’t take any direction with purpose, just trusting that he’ll come across them again eventually. When he does find them, they seem to be enjoying each other more than the gardens. He’d hate to interrupt, so he pretends not to have seen them and occupies himself with leaning over a short cobblestone wall to inhale the essence of some angry looking pink flower with petals like meathooks. It smells just ok.
Kanna rejoins Reginae’s side, reaching out and placing a finger on one bloom as to help a stuck bumblecat regain its footing outside of the cup-shaped petals. The fuzzy creature scrambles onto her painted nail and promptly uses it as a launching pad so that it may jump straight into the next lotus, leaving a dusting of pollen on her finger. Kanna laughs as she carefully wipes it on the petal so that the bumbles may have a plentiful harvest. “They’re beautiful, aren’t they? I can see why they’re the centerpiece of the garden.” Her smile turns into a look of surprise that turns into a flush as Reginae gingerly brushes against her freckled arm. It was not an unpleasant sensation, but it does draw a curious tilt of the head as she looks at the azure-eyed woman. “I have actually never visited the city since it was unsealed; what is the climate like? I can help you find something foreign that would take well to the area.” She offers, oblivious to the towering Mathollak’s form barely concealed by the short partition wall. At Reginae’s request, Kanna holds a finger up to her chin as she looks over the directory just across from them. The gardens were just expansive enough to warrant a guide, which Kanna appreciates now as she quietly rules over some of the less interesting ones. “Oh, here’s something you might like! It's one of my favorites.” Kanna wraps a pudgy, freckled arm around Reginae’s slender one, and leads her to the Frostmawian exhibit. The flowers here are covered by a perpetual shade to keep them safe from the summer sun, and magically conjured ice is regularly replenished to keep the stems cool. In the basket are stems that seem a near-transparent shade of pale blue as though made of pure ice, with rose petals on top that are a beautifully contrasting deep-red. The shape of the roses peek out at one end and dent inwards at the other, making a shape like a drawn heart. “These are called Hunter Heart roses. They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” With a shy laugh, Kanna adds, “They’re my favorite because one of my first loves gave me one as thanks for repairing his cart once. I suppose I’m easily swayed by men who give girls flowers. Which of these have been your favorite so far?”
Reginae watches Kanna save this pollen covered creature with interest though she says nothing. What an endearing event; that she even saw it to begin with. Kanna wraps her arm around Regi’s and she thinks, with no shortage of satisfaction, that transporting Kanna will go swimmingly. It can be a trek for those unfamiliar with the paths. It’s a short jaunt through Cerillian lavender bushes and Vailkrin black pearl roses to Reginae’s least favorite kind of climate; cold. The frigid air carried by the breeze in their direction sent a wild shiver up her spine. Even as a human, her body functions were much the same. She keeps her arm interlocked with Kanna’s as her companion explains these Hunter Heart roses. A fine name at the very least. They were quite beautiful, despite the despicable temperature. But, if it pleased Kanna to have such a thing, Reginae would find a way to recreate it at the Palace after she arrived. At Reginae’s silent assertion, one of the roses swells in size. It’s petals fan open as if Kanna was the sunlight it needed to thrive. “Marvelously so.” Reginae agrees, side eyeing Kanna with the hopes she’ll investigate this oddity. Dosing her newest prize with a sedative would make Kanna’s journey that much easier. It can be quite startling and Reginae only wanted the best for her precious pets. Math’s lack of appearance reads to her like permission to proceed. It must be too hard for the lad to part with Kanna face to face. A sentiment she understood and vowed to make it easy for him as well. They’d vanish without a trace to keep his heartache to a minimum. Her features do soften when Kanna continues to explain why she loves them, further solidifying Reginae’s plan to add them to the Gardens in Alithrya. Men giving flowers. Her smile doesn’t falter as she comments. “Who wouldn’t be? It’s lovely to be so adored as to receive flowers.” She waits a beat to think about which flower had been her favorite so far. “I think, my dear, my favorite flower would be you.”
Mathollak isn’t about to ruin a good thing, so he continues to let them have their moment. Besides, he’s having fun now. He found a particularly lively and aggressive strain of sunflower to harass. They’ve been selectively bred over generations to be especially sun-greedy. He stands in front of them, blocking their sun. In a few seconds, their stems seem to snap in half of their own momentum, but they catch themselves before bending fully in half once they feel the sun again. He moves. They move. He moves again. Finally, as if having enough, one of the older flowers belches up a cloud of spores that twinkle in the sun and tickle the man’s nostrils. Mathollak sneezes in defeat and backs away from the wet-blanket-flower. He crosses the path Kanna takes Reginae down, confirming that they’re still somewhere. Eventually he finds another warning sign, “Beautiful but Deadly” Mathollak reads aloud, this one alerting him to the danger of poisoning. “Finally,” he mutters to himself. He walks down the path brimming with excitement, hoping to see something familiar and perhaps harvestable (poison means a lot of different things). Immediately is vexed. The gardens turn into things more like solariums, walling the poisonous barbs, toxic spores, itchy oils, and hallucinogenic petals from the public. ‘Protecting’ them. But he doesn’t give up that easily. While Reginae freezes in the cold and Kanna melts in the affection, Mathollak traces the seams of the glass panes with his eyes. At last, he finds a crack in which a slithering vine creeps out. It’s moistened bud clusters covering the juicy green vine like sheep’s wool. A small plaque informs him of the name. ‘Phantom Wisteria’. Sounds like exactly what he’s looking for! “Just gonna take a little bit,” he mumbles to himself, glancing sidelong in either direction. “For tea maybe!” He pinches two fingers around the tapering bundle and pulls. Instantly he’s aware of his mistake, as he pulls those fingers back up to his eyes. A hundred tiny needles, invisible unless seen in the light, perforate his finger tips. He frowns and walks off, back the way he came.
Kanna’s eyes widen as the flower changes form and opens. As much as she had tried to cultivate these herself, she had neve seen them do something like this. Perhaps they were getting ready to call out to the bumblecats to harvest pollen? “Oh, they must be blooming!” She says with surprise. Having hosted Mathollak and Reginae for the tournament, the idea of either of them harboring anything akin to ill-will or nefarious plots has not crossed her mind. Kanna leans in and breathes the flower in, but her expression quickly changes from wonder to horror. This was not the scent of a rose. This was pure nightshade. “Reginae, we need to go to the Healer’s Guild, this is…” The toxin acts fast, already numbing the tips of Kanna’s fingers. Her horror is compounded as Reginae’s affectionate expression does not seem to change or show any concern for the bardess. ‘I think, my dear, my favorite flower is you.’ It sounds almost as though she were mocking her. She did this to her? But why? “Mathollak!” Kanna cries out, her knees locking from paralysis as she attempts to remain upright. Something was horribly wrong, and not knowing what was the most terrifying part of all. Her mind flashes to a man with silver hair and silver fox ears, a man she had hired to be her bodyguard just days before, but had dismissed after they had solved the mystery of the black lotus. “Tetsu…!” This cry is weaker as the nightshade creeps into her chest, willing her heart to slow and lulling her mind to allow it to rest. Kanna falls to her knees as she looks up at Reginae, her expression full of terror. As she drifts off, the image of someone with silver hair and silver fox ears faintly transforms to one of salt and pepper hair with lupine ears that extends a curious Frostmawian flower in her direction as an awkward token of gratitude. “Ran…k… help …” Kanna begs the ghost of the past before her eyes roll back into her head and she falls limp on the ground of the Chartsendian gardens.
Reginae is not aware that her facial expression gives her away. To her, she’s looking at Kanna with loving affection. Her confidence is born from an internal vow to provide Kanna with the very best life that Alithrya can afford. She’s going to a better place. A safe, luxurious cage awaited her arrival with open arms. When Kanna cries out for Mathollak, the Queen’s expression shifts to confusion. Oh dear, did he not tell her this was happening? It must have been too hard for him to take. What a soft hearted man. She never would have guessed. Kanna struggles, which Reginae does hate, but she’d used the fastest acting poison that would do the least amount of harm. Wasn’t that thoughtful? She’s sure Kanna will agree when she wakes. It’s not so horrible in context. While Kanna fades, Reginae stays close to catch the woman when she will inevitably fall. The rest of the jumbled words that fall from her lips are lost to Regi but they are of no importance to the naga. “There, there my blossom. You are safe. Rest easy.” Her purring whisper would find Kanna’s ears even with the white haired woman unconscious. She isn’t sure if Mathollak will even appear, his poor fragile heart couldn’t take the thought of this let alone witness it. With a disappointed shake of her head, Reginae shifts Kanna in her arms to better balance her after her fainting. When Mathollak does appear, Reginae will spin in his direction, looking confused. “Why didn’t you stay with us?” Did he truly wish to part ways with his precious woman this way? Good thing if he arrives. He can say his goodbyes now. The Hunter Heart Roses all shiver anxiously, growing in size to shield them from the cold. She does so hate the cold.
Mathollak hears Kanna’s voice calling his name from somewhere impossibly far away. A voice that seems to start off small but grow louder as the sound waves reach his ears. Sound waves he can see? They warble against the path he walks, which seems to reverberate with the sound waves as well. Small swells, like ocean waves, form in the ground and rush toward him as he tries to make his way toward where he last saw Kanna and Reginae. “Kan…na…!” He tries to call out, but somehow his mouth seems to be melting, he tries to bring his hand up to his face but its so very far away. Every step he takes on the path to reach them causes the entire peninsula to tip one way or the other, so he’s forced to walk very carefully. But it’s okay because he’s become so tall, that just each stride is as long as a giant’s. To complicate things further, the plants have also grown to enormous size, and seem intent on preventing him from reaching her. Of course, this is all in his head. Anyone seeing him just sees a man behaving very strangely, creeping with comically careful steps, in extreme slow motion, in the middle of the daylight. His eyes are the size of saucers, with no visible iris, his pupils have completely swelled to the edge of the sclera as he takes in all these completely nonexistent visuals. Finally, he spots Kanna and Reginae, but they seem to be going away from him! “Wa…ait…!” Suddenly, a massive chasm opens up under him, and he seems to be falling, falling, falling, falling… At the top of the abyss, he can still see Kanna and Reginae, their getting into a carriage and leaving for the snake queen’s ball. Without him? What a monstrous thing to do! He seems to be pulling himself toward them on an invisible rope (to him, he’s climbing out of the abyss), but he’s so incredibly slowly to make sure he doesn’t accidentally tip the universe upside down, that there’s no way he could ever catch them.
Reginae narrows her eyes as Mathollak appears intoxicated? His exaggerated, crawling pace looked ridiculous. What was with him? If he was so distraught by this gift he’s giving her, why did he give it to her at all?! Annoyed by the man’s flip flopping ideas, Reginae sets Kanna gently in the carriage before going back to assess him. He’s…slithering on the ground. Why is everyone so racist against Nagas? Fully offended, she offers him the diplomatic gift of unconsciousness a la blunt force trauma. He could tell Kanna goodbye in person. In Alithrya.