The spiral tried her hardest to stay focused on the one thing she was doing, but as any other spiral will know, it's a very difficult task. Zephyr was of course failing at that despite her best efforts. While she was working hard in the kitchen in her stuffy uniform, she was also thinking about her hobby just waiting for her in her home. Her smith was just sitting there without her there.. possibly collecting dust within the few hours she spent separated from it. It was unbearable. But while she was dying to return to her true job back at home, doing her second job would prevent her from having her hide singed off by the leader of the palace. Once she got the broth finally heated and the cooked breakfast meats finally done to perfection, she raced out the kitchen and through the hall at preposterous speeds. She struggled to keep the broth in its bowl without spilling as her hyped up and under-worked body jetted her towards the throne room.
In a snap, Zephyr skidded to a stop in front of the king and his.. scary accompaniments. The tiny little spiral never felt used to the sheer size of the behemoth imperial sitting next to the king. Kai was there, along with that sly of a nocturne. The leader insisted that they were his bodyguards, which she was ready to believe. But the king also often times had them deal with things he himself didn't want to deal with. That's a thing a body guard doesn't typically do. "Your breakfast, sir." she panted with a beating heart, holding the large tray above her head. The pearlcatcher leaned foreword to look at what she prepared before taking it from her claws. He leaned back in, grinning and smelling his meal. "You've been awful busy the past few weeks, my king. I barely saw you at all during those days- yet you ordered me to stay put? If- if I may ask-" She gulped nervously as he glared down wordlessly at her, yet nodding his head as if to usher her to continue. "M-maybe you would not mind me returning home early if you don't happen to be here? That way I'm not just wasting time sitting in your palace without servi--" Her voice was cut off by the annoyed, posh voice of her leader. "I never mentioned anything about such a privilege, nor will you ever get it. You'll never know if I return, yeah?" Zephyr frowned, her fingers rapping against the knuckles of her other hand. "I- was just thinking.." "I don't care about the thoughts of a lowly spiral. Your life is in this palace, and my word is law." he interrupted again in a growl. She looked down, not really remembering her leader being this mean. He was like this these past months, almost a half of the year at this point. What's gotten into him? He's never called his servants lowly before. "Of course, sire." "Get out of here."
Kai sat next to the tiny king in his equally tiny throne, watching the even tinier spiral dart away with emotionless green eyes. All the while, he thought about how annoying that little whelp was to him. Zephyr never struck him as charismatic or anything close. Some days, he'd just wish to swallow her whole with one bite to rid of her forever. But if the leader insisted on keeping her here, sure. He could tolerate her for the time being. "Well now.. back to this." the pearlcatcher hummed, blowing on his broth before taking a sip. Kai sat still like a gargoyle, his emerald gaze pierced the wall on the other side of the room. "Hmm.. this broth is good but.." the king began. "I would have preferred cider. Some lovely, crispy, liquid gold. Apple cider." he spoke dreamily to himself. Kai looked up at the ceiling in bliss just thinking about it. The king noticed. "Zephyr!" he shouted. In a mere minute, the spiral raced into the throne room, awaiting orders. "Get down to the cellar and fill us some glasses of cider. Now!" "Right away.." she mumbled timidly before running off. Kai watched her leave with disgust, thinking about how improper and flighty she was compared to his noble, graceful self.
The spiral tried her hardest to stay focused on the one thing she was doing, but as any other spiral will know, it's a very difficult task. Zephyr was of course failing at that despite her best efforts. While she was working hard in the kitchen in her stuffy uniform, she was also thinking about her hobby just waiting for her in her home. Her smith was just sitting there without her there.. possibly collecting dust within the few hours she spent separated from it. It was unbearable. But while she was dying to return to her true job back at home, doing her second job would prevent her from having her hide singed off by the leader of the palace. Once she got the broth finally heated and the cooked breakfast meats finally done to perfection, she raced out the kitchen and through the hall at preposterous speeds. She struggled to keep the broth in its bowl without spilling as her hyped up and under-worked body jetted her towards the throne room.
In a snap, Zephyr skidded to a stop in front of the king and his.. scary accompaniments. The tiny little spiral never felt used to the sheer size of the behemoth imperial sitting next to the king. Kai was there, along with that sly of a nocturne. The leader insisted that they were his bodyguards, which she was ready to believe. But the king also often times had them deal with things he himself didn't want to deal with. That's a thing a body guard doesn't typically do. "Your breakfast, sir." she panted with a beating heart, holding the large tray above her head. The pearlcatcher leaned foreword to look at what she prepared before taking it from her claws. He leaned back in, grinning and smelling his meal. "You've been awful busy the past few weeks, my king. I barely saw you at all during those days- yet you ordered me to stay put? If- if I may ask-" She gulped nervously as he glared down wordlessly at her, yet nodding his head as if to usher her to continue. "M-maybe you would not mind me returning home early if you don't happen to be here? That way I'm not just wasting time sitting in your palace without servi--" Her voice was cut off by the annoyed, posh voice of her leader. "I never mentioned anything about such a privilege, nor will you ever get it. You'll never know if I return, yeah?" Zephyr frowned, her fingers rapping against the knuckles of her other hand. "I- was just thinking.." "I don't care about the thoughts of a lowly spiral. Your life is in this palace, and my word is law." he interrupted again in a growl. She looked down, not really remembering her leader being this mean. He was like this these past months, almost a half of the year at this point. What's gotten into him? He's never called his servants lowly before. "Of course, sire." "Get out of here."
Kai sat next to the tiny king in his equally tiny throne, watching the even tinier spiral dart away with emotionless green eyes. All the while, he thought about how annoying that little whelp was to him. Zephyr never struck him as charismatic or anything close. Some days, he'd just wish to swallow her whole with one bite to rid of her forever. But if the leader insisted on keeping her here, sure. He could tolerate her for the time being. "Well now.. back to this." the pearlcatcher hummed, blowing on his broth before taking a sip. Kai sat still like a gargoyle, his emerald gaze pierced the wall on the other side of the room. "Hmm.. this broth is good but.." the king began. "I would have preferred cider. Some lovely, crispy, liquid gold. Apple cider." he spoke dreamily to himself. Kai looked up at the ceiling in bliss just thinking about it. The king noticed. "Zephyr!" he shouted. In a mere minute, the spiral raced into the throne room, awaiting orders. "Get down to the cellar and fill us some glasses of cider. Now!" "Right away.." she mumbled timidly before running off. Kai watched her leave with disgust, thinking about how improper and flighty she was compared to his noble, graceful self.
Outside of the castle doors, the king's knights stood quietly and stone-faced. One of the two, a particularly tough looking Wildclaw, watched the horizon carefully for any wandering creatures looking to get curious. Nari took her job very seriously and has since she was young. As she kept close guard, she allowed her mind to wander to where the King could be. He seemed to stay strictly in the throne room which was odd for him. He was always wandering the castle, planning events and public hearings but nowadays he appeared to be locking himself away. Nari watched over the kingdom-goers mindlessly as she thought about the King. After a bit of day dreaming, she shook the thought away and tried her best to focus on her duties at the door.
"They always look so serious." Lily chuckled to herself. Her sparkling yellow corn snake slithered up to her antlers and tickled her ear with it's tongue. "Oh you silly boy," She smiled, "You can't be distracting me from my work." The shimmering tree-colored Skydancer tended to the garden as she always did. Water the plants, weed the soil, mix in the fertilizer, cut back the branches on the bushes and overgrown flowers, make sure the path was clean, etc. etc. As busy as she was all the time with caring for acres and acres of land, she loved her job. Tending to the soils beneath her was her calling and she knew it. It made her incredibly happy. Lily always enjoyed tending to the King's landscape, making sure it was spotless daily.
Outside of the castle doors, the king's knights stood quietly and stone-faced. One of the two, a particularly tough looking Wildclaw, watched the horizon carefully for any wandering creatures looking to get curious. Nari took her job very seriously and has since she was young. As she kept close guard, she allowed her mind to wander to where the King could be. He seemed to stay strictly in the throne room which was odd for him. He was always wandering the castle, planning events and public hearings but nowadays he appeared to be locking himself away. Nari watched over the kingdom-goers mindlessly as she thought about the King. After a bit of day dreaming, she shook the thought away and tried her best to focus on her duties at the door.
"They always look so serious." Lily chuckled to herself. Her sparkling yellow corn snake slithered up to her antlers and tickled her ear with it's tongue. "Oh you silly boy," She smiled, "You can't be distracting me from my work." The shimmering tree-colored Skydancer tended to the garden as she always did. Water the plants, weed the soil, mix in the fertilizer, cut back the branches on the bushes and overgrown flowers, make sure the path was clean, etc. etc. As busy as she was all the time with caring for acres and acres of land, she loved her job. Tending to the soils beneath her was her calling and she knew it. It made her incredibly happy. Lily always enjoyed tending to the King's landscape, making sure it was spotless daily.
Even with her fast speeds, getting to the cellar down below was not a quick task. The whole palace was pretty big in its own right, and more so of a maze than a mansion anyway. Thankfully, she was already accustomed to the grandeur of the place after working here for quite a while now. She zoomed down the many floors all the way to the grand basement and finally down to the cellar door with her tray and glasses in hand. She crashed head-first into the door, falling to the floor and dropping everything she carried. Zephyr slowly rose her head back up again, her ears pinning back as the sharp realization hit her that she broke all the glasses. If she were to be late because she stayed to clean, there'd be trouble. Something else, however, caught her attention.
The scent beyond the door was mostly just crisp and sweet, like apple cider. But there was something else there. Something rancid. Disgusting, almost rotten. She imagined a hunter just tossing his prey to the side and not doing anything with it for weeks, comparing that scenario to this smell. It was very, very faint, and she partly thought she was imagining it. In any case, she hadn't cleaned the cellar in ages. So she had a new goal. Grab some new glasses, return to the cellar, get the cider, get to the shed out near the garden for the broom, sweep up the glass, then mop the cellar. It'd be the most she had to do for a long time, but she was okay with that. So, without further delay, she grabbed her tray and headed back up to get some new dishes.
Kai suddenly came up with a thought, something that for a brief moment, intrigued him. "Sir." he began curtly. "I'm in no way questioning your wisdom or authority- but do you think it might not be such a good idea to send her.. there?" The pearlcatcher lifted a brow as he ate a few bites of meat. He swallowed, then looked up at the imperial. "Oh, relax. She's a scatter-brained loon that barely slows down or pays attention. What is she gonna notice?" He sipped his broth once more. Kai lowered his head slightly, feeling like an idiot because of his dismissive remark. "Well, it's just.. you never let anyone else in there, for obvious reasons. And she hasn't been in there for--" The pearlcatcher snapped a finger and pointed at Kai in anger. "Hey. Shut your mouth. She'll return any minute now."
Well, a minute or so passed without the little dragon in his throne room, and he grew increasingly impatient. Since he was so used to her incredible snappiness in doing orders for him, he had high expectations for her. Finally, the little blue snake showed up. She was panting, a tray in her claws with the glasses of cider sitting on it. The king took them, holding one in his hand for himself and offering the other two to his guards. Kai took his, sipping it lovingly. Once their glasses were took, Zephyr took off for the outside doors. The king looked up. "Where are you going?" he asked. "Uh-- just going to get a few things and clean a few spots." "What spots?" I-in the basement. Dusty. Heh heh.." He squinted his eyes in her direction before shrugging. "Fine. Be quick." He watched as she suddenly dashed out the doors past the guards. He shook his head.
Even with her fast speeds, getting to the cellar down below was not a quick task. The whole palace was pretty big in its own right, and more so of a maze than a mansion anyway. Thankfully, she was already accustomed to the grandeur of the place after working here for quite a while now. She zoomed down the many floors all the way to the grand basement and finally down to the cellar door with her tray and glasses in hand. She crashed head-first into the door, falling to the floor and dropping everything she carried. Zephyr slowly rose her head back up again, her ears pinning back as the sharp realization hit her that she broke all the glasses. If she were to be late because she stayed to clean, there'd be trouble. Something else, however, caught her attention.
The scent beyond the door was mostly just crisp and sweet, like apple cider. But there was something else there. Something rancid. Disgusting, almost rotten. She imagined a hunter just tossing his prey to the side and not doing anything with it for weeks, comparing that scenario to this smell. It was very, very faint, and she partly thought she was imagining it. In any case, she hadn't cleaned the cellar in ages. So she had a new goal. Grab some new glasses, return to the cellar, get the cider, get to the shed out near the garden for the broom, sweep up the glass, then mop the cellar. It'd be the most she had to do for a long time, but she was okay with that. So, without further delay, she grabbed her tray and headed back up to get some new dishes.
Kai suddenly came up with a thought, something that for a brief moment, intrigued him. "Sir." he began curtly. "I'm in no way questioning your wisdom or authority- but do you think it might not be such a good idea to send her.. there?" The pearlcatcher lifted a brow as he ate a few bites of meat. He swallowed, then looked up at the imperial. "Oh, relax. She's a scatter-brained loon that barely slows down or pays attention. What is she gonna notice?" He sipped his broth once more. Kai lowered his head slightly, feeling like an idiot because of his dismissive remark. "Well, it's just.. you never let anyone else in there, for obvious reasons. And she hasn't been in there for--" The pearlcatcher snapped a finger and pointed at Kai in anger. "Hey. Shut your mouth. She'll return any minute now."
Well, a minute or so passed without the little dragon in his throne room, and he grew increasingly impatient. Since he was so used to her incredible snappiness in doing orders for him, he had high expectations for her. Finally, the little blue snake showed up. She was panting, a tray in her claws with the glasses of cider sitting on it. The king took them, holding one in his hand for himself and offering the other two to his guards. Kai took his, sipping it lovingly. Once their glasses were took, Zephyr took off for the outside doors. The king looked up. "Where are you going?" he asked. "Uh-- just going to get a few things and clean a few spots." "What spots?" I-in the basement. Dusty. Heh heh.." He squinted his eyes in her direction before shrugging. "Fine. Be quick." He watched as she suddenly dashed out the doors past the guards. He shook his head.
