"Are you out of your mind?!"
Now that Neveah has established herself as an Advocating councilor, a great many doors had opened up for her and her entourage. Her success was, of course, mainly due to the counsel of Lorelai. Lorelai, who had spent her entire life prior to her disastrous Trials studying council politics, who had mastered the art of subtle manipulation, who had prepared for her future life as a councilor by sharpening her mind and honing her skills so that her ambitions could finally be realized. A wraith, however, could never hold any standing within the Council, and so she'd been shunted from Necromancer to Necromancer until custody of her had been unceremoniously dumped upon Neveah's shoulders. Beautiful, wonderful Neveah, who saw her for who she truly was, who looked past her tarnished coloration and her failures and had given her a second chance.
If Lorelai could not be a part of the Great Game
directly, she could at least play from the sidelines. Live vicariously through her 'mistress', as it were.
At that point, it was practically an open secret that a wraith was the brains behind the Entourage of Councilor Neveah. Lorelai moved her queen about the board with expert precision, carefully positioning her and the rest of her pieces so that Neveah stood to benefit and gain and advance in political standing. Through Lorelai's careful planning and execution, Neveah had finally made a name for herself.
Now, that wasn't to say that Neveah was
incompetent when it came to politics; Neveah could play the Great Game well enough herself, but Lorelai was the true master, and thus was usually content to defer to the clever nocturne's judgements.
Usually. Not always. Even they were not immune to… disagreements, from time to time.
"Lorelai!" Neveah whined, her great elegant ears involuntarily pinned back in response to the nocturne's screech. The imperial lowered her head placatingly, big red eyes wide and pleading. "I really think they could help us!"
Lorelai scowled at her. The puppy eyes would
not work on her.
Not this time. "It's political suicide, is what it is! Aligning yourself with
an upstart council member with such radical views, who rose to Ruling class in such a record time? Neveah, come on, be smart about this! You only just rose to Advocating yourself," She admonished, "Someone like that is only going to crash and burn. The rest of the council won't stand for this…
this collective she's building. She's a radical!"
"And so am I," Neveah argued, "I mean- Look at
us! Everyone knows you're my advisor, and you're a- you're not a councilor. They know I treat my entourage members as equals, and they know if they want my vote they need to do the same at the bare minimum!"
"That's different, and you know it," Lorelai said, tail lashing in agitation. "There's still plausible deniability with us. As there should be!" she added, fiercely, when Neveah opened her mouth to interject. "It's one thing to privately advocate for the rights of your lessers, Neveah, but another thing entirely to come out and challenge the very
structure of our society."
The imperial necromancer's mane fluffed up in agitation. Neveah said, impassioned, "The way they treat you, and those like you- it's
wrong. I don't understand why you don't- you aren't- on board with this."
"Because the Brackwater Collective is too radical!" Lorelai said, her voice exasperated. "They challenge the very doctrine of our ways! That's no way to bring about change. No, this Empress and her Brackwater Collective will surely be taken out by the more dogmatic zealots of the Council before the month is out, mark my words. They won't stand for less!"
"I would challenge
the Mother herself, if it meant you were finally given your due!" Neveah shouted then, her eyes ablaze and her teeth bared with righteous fury.
The outburst was so sudden that Lorelai blinked, taken aback. Neveah… had never, ever raised her voice at any of her entourage, much less at Lorelai. The nocturne looked at her then, really looked at her- at her stiff shoulders and tense spine, at how her mane stood on end, at how her claws curled into the stone floor, gouging out marks in the cobblestone.
"Oh," Lorelai said softly.
Neveah was usually a mild-mannered individual. Far too kind for a person of her pedigree and standing, her heart soft and worn on her sleeves. She was slow to passion and slow to anger, except when-
When it came to Lorelai.
To her credit, Neveah looked ashamed then. Her great head drooped, her gaze averted, a testament to her remorse. Lorelai gently cradled the imperial's cheeks with her claws, tilting her snout upward so she could press a kiss to Neveah's velvety nose.
"… You've given this a lot of thought, haven't you, my love?" She asked quietly.
"You know I have," Neveah mumbled back, still avoiding her gaze. "I've… been quietly following it all. Councillor Empress and her Brackwater Collective reject the rigid doctrine and religious gospel preached by the Council. They prefer a more scientific approach to Necromancy… and they believe that people shouldn't be thrown away if they fail their Trials. They believe everyone has something to offer, even if they are otherwise worthless in the eyes of the Council. They believe in second chances."
Oh, sweet Neveah. Lorelai's heart positively ached. Of course her beloved would immediately desire to throw in her lot with a group that seemed to treat people even marginally better than the Council did, and who believed in second chances.
"You know they aren't altruistic," Lorelai warned, reaching up to tenderly brush a tendril of Neveah's errant mane out of her face. "There is always an angle. There is
always a price to pay. This Empress has an agenda, and will use you as just another pawn on the board. It would be risky to align with them, especially if the rest of the Council took umbrage and came down hard on her so-called Collective. We could lose everything."
"She has more support than you realize," Neveah finally met her eyes. Lorelai smiled at her, and kissed her nose again. "Is it such a bad thing to hope for a better way of life?"
"The cost is what I'm worried about," Lorelai sighed.
"There will always be a cost, no matter what we do," Neveah pointed out. "And we're already heretics. At least this way we will have allies who would stand by us. And with the Collective's growing political clout, we're less likely to have eyes upon us for…
other reasons."
"You mean the three Emperors imprisoned in the basement?" Lorelai asked drily, her eyes dancing in merriment. "Tell me, what is their policy on eldritch abominations?"
"You know, I'm not sure," Neveah replied, her eyes twinkling as well. "I didn't get a chance to ask yet."
"It's a miracle no one has noticed them, you know."
"I know."
"Seriously, though. The majority of our budget goes towards just feeding them. It's a miracle we aren't bankrupt. The Hunter's Guild thinks you're eating all of it yourself, by the way."
"I'm sure you did nothing to dissuade them otherwise."
"Of course not. Much better for the world to think you're some sort of bottomless pit."
"… If you truly think this is a bad idea, then I won't do it," Neveah mumbled then, pressing her big imperial nose into Lorelai's chest, seeking comfort as a flower sought the warmth of the sun. "I'll tell them no."
"Oh, it's undoubtedly a bad idea," Lorelai said, running her claws through the rest of Neveah's messy mane. "But, so is keeping three Emperors in the basement. So is letting a wraith tell you what to do. But I think you've already made up your mind on this. If you're going to do this… I'll at least be there beside you, every step of the way. Someone has to keep you from committing political gaffes."
"I love you, Lorelai."
"I love you too, you big idiot."
