Jill lept out of the way of the flashing fangs and growled a little. That was not what she had meant at all but apparently the spirit took things very literally. It was a very confusing thing since it didn't speak plainly. "Well, Jaeda you have eaten my snack. Is there anything else you want?"
Jaeda smiled. Or, what could only be construed as a smile from a snake. "Your name, so I can tell my Lawgiver properly when I hand him a treasure like yourself." The serpent's coils tightened around the feline in the trap it had been wrapping for the last minute.
"Lawgiver?" she chirped, quite literally as the cat was no longer there for the scales to wrap around. "He will have to wait for this treasure. You're a pet of that warlock then, I think you mistake whom holds the least in your relationship." The finch landed on the spiked head, resisting the urge to peck at it.
"And you are a sister to his Ocelotl, from your shape-change. Don't judge the relationship you don't understand. When Eida gains power, Jaeda does too." The snake's heart wasn't in a competition, especially if this one already knew Eida and the others. There would be no prize. Jaeda balanced its head on the fine edge of its tail.
"Why eat up here then? Surely easier access is had at the actual pantry, and the company can be...entertaining."
"Why eat up here then? Surely easier access is had at the actual pantry, and the company can be...entertaining."
"So you're more like partners. Got it. Glad Ruby doesn't have some weird spirt thing following her around. Well, she's got me but it's not the same." She preened since it seemed like the thing to do but she always hated feathers. They were stiff and not as fluffy as fur. "There is no one in the pantry at this time of night and with all the guards following the Sun Kings around it's impossible to get any breathing room. Plus, someone put up some stupid rule about cats not allowed in the kitchen. I'm not much for rules."
"Then, if you don't mind, bring some more. That sample was delicious. And then maybe we can talk, since we seem destined to work astride for the time being." The tiny little claws on Jaeda's head itched. It was annoying.
"You know it's not the easiest thing to haul a whole hen up here so I think I'll pass on the second attempt at a snack." Jill decided the safest place at the moment was where she was so she remained on his head as he spoke, poking her head down to look into a large green eye. "So, you... assist... the tattooed one. Tell me what that's like, he's so stiff. Does he ever loosen up?"
The serpent's eye glittered with a calculating intelligence as the small food bobbed in front of it. "Eida has served for years. Formality is just a piece of that necessity. Diplomacy is not made with roaring insults. His methods are effective, and the people around him treat him due to his efficiencies. Here is not a friendly place for his people." Jaeda sighed when it realized that more food would not be coming, that hen had an unusually sweet finish to it's bones as they snapped, and the snake wanted another.
"You are not tied to anyone, why do you stay with yours?"
"You are not tied to anyone, why do you stay with yours?"
"Well, cats are curious and this has been the most interesting place my travels have brought me to so far. Mostly because of the people. It's even more curious now that they have been chosen by the Sun." She watched a white feather float down past the eye. Jill didn't think it was smart to explain the connection between her kind and the Solars to a strange creature, especially since she didn't understand the meaning of it very well herself. "I have yet to find a place that's friendly for everyone. I'm just glad to not be chased out for once."
"While that may be true, Ocelotl are not cats. So you are appropriating a trait just to give a sense of belonging." A vertical slit of an eyelid shut as the feather floated by, but the luminescent gaze still penetrated.
"But that case is true, belong where you can, because it is few and far between. Mankind is not a pleasant people. Where in the stars can you be found? Every spirit of sorts has something to call their own. Find it, and you will always have home in Creation."
"But that case is true, belong where you can, because it is few and far between. Mankind is not a pleasant people. Where in the stars can you be found? Every spirit of sorts has something to call their own. Find it, and you will always have home in Creation."
She snorted and as a bird it was an almost musical sound. "And you? Is this where you belong? Is this your home or just your Solar friend's?"
"My home has been...inaccessible to me for lifetimes. So, this is my home. As much as the Wyld is yours."
The little tweety bird was still on his head, why? Jaeda looked back up to the constellations again. The serpent resisted the inclination to swipe the bird off of itself, the conversation was different, Jaeda didn't immediately know where it was going to go, like it did with Eida. "What is it you hope plays out here?"
The little tweety bird was still on his head, why? Jaeda looked back up to the constellations again. The serpent resisted the inclination to swipe the bird off of itself, the conversation was different, Jaeda didn't immediately know where it was going to go, like it did with Eida. "What is it you hope plays out here?"
"Lucky you, you have a home. The Wyld is no more my home than anyone else who belongs to creation." She shifted, trying not to get poked by any spikes. "Here? With the Lawgivers? Well. I think I'd like to see them succeed. The word hasn't seen their kind in hundreds of years so now the course of time has changed and I get to be around to see it. How about you? What does the serpent wish to see happen?"
"Succeed? At what, what the king of an empire destined to fall dictates to them? No. Those below are due for greater things. Bring out a golden era that only us that have been alive long enough can hope to recall. Raise cities, build culture, revive lost faith. With their return, I can hope to see and taste more than ever. The experience of living is what I crave." Jaeda spoke almost wistfully. This was something that had never occurred to any of the historians. The viper had an opportunity that literally none other had, since they were all killed by the overreaching Khal.
"It's funny you assume I mean for them to only succeed in their current endeavor. Yes, it will be a new era, for good or for bad. I am meant to be by their side and so that is where I will be. What is your part serpent?"
"Have you not gathered that yet? I will raise my host to heights he would not be able to achieve alone. He will bring out the pieces of me still dormant, and together, we will be whole. No longer am I required to live through his eyes, his fingers, his ears. At his side with what he is now, vicarious means are a thing of the past." Jaeda paused for that little speech to sink in, let the shifter glean whatever she wanted. Maybe now would be a good time to see if the twitterer had warmed up to it. "Of course, there are exceptions. There is an annoying enchantment about this place, and I find myself unable to get to the kitchen. I'm sure you can be more than the little thing you've shown. You wouldn't have stayed near me for so long if you didn't have means"
"You sound a lot like a group of people I know," she laughed and doubled checked the serpent's body for moonsilver tattoos just in case. His speech sounded an awful like the ones the Seneshels gave when talking about the return of their lost mates. It was a pity, she didn't think her Solar would need her help rising to great heights of they even needed her at all. "Those are some grand plans you have there. And yes, I have plenty of means but they all can't get up to the roof so easily or out of the kitchen. What enchantments?"
"I am...unsure. Without examining from inside, I'll likely never find what it is that prevents my entry." Jaeda sighed melodramatically, a raspy sound of steel grating against steel. "Do I now? Who would those people be?" If it couldn't get the bait to get food, it should at least provide some information.
"Perhaps they have a good reason for keeping you out. I'm sure you could clean out the kitchen larder in no time." She got tired of talking in a downward direction and flapped over to the peak of the roof. "Just people who believe the Sun Kings each have the perfect mate. Nothing I'm entirely sure is true."
"Everyone has a perfect mate. Now, is that mate compatible with them? Very rarely is that perfect match reconciled with the other half." Jaeda's tongues lashed out in the air, a motion roughly equivalent with licking its lips. "While that may be true about the larder, my palate has grown quite picky. And my stomach, quite empty." Food was in no way required to survive, but Jaeda enjoyed the experience. Just like it enjoyed feeling the breeze on its scales, and a conversation in front of it. It was simple now, and enjoyable, but it would only be filling for so long.
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