abraxaslogs | An Evening Gathering

WHO: Anyone welcome to wander around Castle Thorne!
WHAT: A little roundtable-townhall-mingle, a space to share information and discuss the Situation
WHEN: post-Horizon, after the new arrivals turn up so they can join in
WHERE: Castle Thorne's Dining Hall
NOTES: A little like a group therapy session but not, all characters will be invited to share anything they would like about their experiences and ask each other questions. Afterwards the group are free to mingle and discuss freely (just reply to the post itself). Let's bond, learn, complain about our new body parts and swap the hot goss!

The invitation spreads easily enough among the Welcomed (and those of the formerly imprisoned who have since earned a pardon), thanks to the cheerful efforts of everyone's favourite bard and the ever-grinding rumour mill: tonight, anyone interested in participating is invited to remain in the dining hall after the evening meal to discuss recent events. Depending on how far along the game of telephone the invitation is by the time it reaches any one person, further details may be difficult to pin down. It is clear at least that this meeting isn't being organised by Ambrose or anyone else from Thorne, though there's no effort to keep it secret from the inhabitants of the castle either. A call to arms this is not. This is not the venue for plotting against the establishment— seditionist talk is best left to the privacy of the Horizon.

Anyone choosing to attend will find the evening meal proceeds as it usually does. As the plates are cleared, though, the table becomes the setting for something of an informal discovery session, a meeting of minds. Everyone here is welcome to take a turn to speak if they would like, and to ask any questions they hope someone else may be able to answer. As the imprisoned are unable to attend, a recording is being made. However, going on the record is optional. Anyone who would rather keep their thoughts transient and non-incriminating is welcome to speak up without fear of being caught on tape.

The meeting breaks up once everyone has had a chance to speak, leaving plenty of opportunity for less structured discussion. Hopefully everyone can go to bed tonight feeling a little more informed and a little less alone...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I think Ambrose was trying for an even fifty.

[His lips quirk. Hero is not a title just about anyone would think to apply to Kylo Ren in the first place, let alone grant him in preference over any field of competitors. Still. Confidence is a good colour on Ronan, especially considering the mood Kylo had found him in just moments ago.]

But I'll listen to your plan, if you have one. Tell me, Ronan. How do you and I show the High Mage we're the ones he's been hoping for?

I might not be ready to bring him into the Horizon, but I can always bring him into a dream.

[ Or... Well, he should be able to, with this much magic in the air. If he could create Cabeswater and Lindenmere out of a dying ley line, it should be a hundred times easier here. ]

[That is indeed a fine prize to offer Ambrose. Kylo, on the other hand, has very little of constructive use to offer, particularly given the hesitancy Jon's attack has likely introduced when it comes to powers involving the mind. He glances over the assembled crowd. Will Ambrose have need of an enforcer? Perhaps. Perhaps he will.]

You may have to convince him we come as a pair, then.

[ Ronan's eyebrows give a perplexed little twitch, like it hadn't occurred to him that this was something anyone would need to be convinced of. And it sounds kind of like Kylo's the one who needs to be convinced, not Ambrose. ]

That's obvious.

[ Come on, now. The incident with the swords no doubt cemented the absolute necessity of Kylo's role in Ronan's dreaming. ]

I can't do it without you.

[Kylo's gaze swings back, a fond twitch tugging at the corner of his mouth.

How sweet.]

You could.

[ Once, maybe. He could have done it before. Before Bryde. Before Hennessy. Before he knew how much more he could be with someone else by his side. Kylo might not join him in the dream, but there is some kind of magic in falling asleep under his watch and waking to find him still there, waiting patiently for Ronan to shake the paralysis from his limbs and relieve him of his duty. ]

I can't.

[ He means it. ]

Then you won't have to. When Ambrose sees what you can do. What you are willing to do. He'll assign you whatever assets you need.

[Kylo certainly seems to be speaking from experience here, doesn't he. He leans in conspiratorially, his voice a low, satisfied murmur.]

I would. If I had summoned you to my empire.

[ Ronan's skin tingles, but all his surprise gets shoved behind a nonchalant purr: ]

You are not just now telling me you're an emperor. That should have been first date information.

[ He's teasing. But also not. Though everything Kylo's mentioned about his past forms a picture that probably ought to have been clear by now, Ronan had obviously missed it. Why didn't Kylo say something? ]

[Now that is a very pleasant reaction to bask in.]

Should it? I hold no rank here. [...but he'll indulge you, thanks for the invitation.] I am the emperor. Supreme Leader of the First Order, Master of the Knights of Ren. If we're trimming the list to titles I have earned rather than inherited.

So you were born royalty, too. Don't trim it. Let me hear them all.

[ This is highly erotic information. ]

I was.

[But that's a little less exciting, for Kylo. Still, Ronan did ask.]

I am the last of the Skywalker line, born into House Organa of the Core World Alderaan, with all the rights and privileges afforded me by the law of the Elder Houses. I would have inherited the title Prince of Alderaan from my mother, had the planet not been destroyed. I believe the planet Birren, traditionally ruled by the Royal House of Alderaan, refers to its monarch as the Supreme Governor. [A mouthful. Kylo's lips twist.] As far as I know, all rumours of my father's descent from Corellian royalty were the usual exaggerations.

Your planet was destroyed?

[ Well, this is certainly less fun. But it all makes so much sense now. Everything about Kylo always told this story without telling it. Now, as Ronan's eyes sweep over Kylo, it's unmistakable. Of course he's an emperor and the leader of an order of knights. Of course he was born a prince. Of course he lost his home.

This is exactly the kind of story Ronan adores. Uncanny, the way it feels specifically crafted for him. But Ronan doesn't let himself look in that direction. He'll lose what's left of his mind if he discovers Kylo is his dream. ]

Shit. We don't have to talk about it.

[Hm. There's a lot Kylo could say at this point, but only one part of Ronan's assumption seems to warrant immediate correction.]

Alderaan was destroyed before I was born. I have no attachment to it.

[Beyond of course the shadow its loss cast over his childhood. That, though, they definitely don't have to talk about.]

[ He doesn't quite believe Kylo. Though he's never personally lived in Ireland, Ronan has nevertheless inherited plenty of love for his father's homeland. But he doesn't press the issue. ]

So, what do most people call you?

[Kylo's lips flicker back into a the slightest twist of a smile.]

Kylo Ren.

[His chosen name, the true victory. Supreme Leader is more of a job title, really.]

Unless they need reminding of their place.

I'll keep that in mind.

[ Damn, when can they get out of here? ]

[Not yet, Ronan. Behave. Kylo leans in just a little closer because it's surprisingly entertaining to torment him, and murmurs:]

See that you do.

An Evening Gathering

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject