The archer sent the arrow screeching like a falcon toward the two of them. The sound startled Kaara.
“Heads up!” Tika said before she snatched it from the sky right in front of Kaara’s face.
She was dumbfounded. Was it because of her that they were being attacked? Was there something Kaara hadn’t done and now they were trying to kill them both? Maybe nobles hated when people slept on wolfback?
Kaara put on her serious face, forming water around their wolf, “Good day noblemen, nice to beat-”
Tika laughed, “No need to get hostile Kaara, it’s just a greeting.” She placed the arrow in Kaara’s lap. It was made of gold and had a divot in the arrowhead to make it whistle, “Nobility doesn’t meet with anyone who can’t catch an arrow from the sky.”
“Am I gonna have to catch one too then?” Kaara didn’t know if she could do that. If her mother had told her beforehand that she would have to snatch an arrow mid flight, she would have practiced that instead of etiquette.
“No need. As long as one representative of a group or party can catch the arrow, then their guests are welcomed.”
“Tika? Tika Alveridan? Is that you?” A voice called out from inside the tower.
It was a shrewd looking xio, his lips curled in a perpetual smirk, eyebrows nit together as if everything was amusing to him. He had two pairs of horns each of which were adorned in gold and silver bands with beads hanging down like hammocks to connect the two of them, “When I heard you ran away from home to join the Tibur I thought it a baseless rumor, but here you are, and with such an… eccentric looking young lady no less!”
Kaara noticed her mother stiffening up.
“I wasn’t aware you would be in attendance, Viscount Braiken. I am a Tibur so I’ll have you address me as such. And yes, this is my daughter,” Tika replied.
“Well I’ll have you address me as Marquess Braiken, I’m no longer a Viscount.”
Tika bowed her head, “My apologies, Marquess. And congratulations on your ascendance.”
Braiken gave her a smug look, “Indeed, you are in the presence of one who can send a force of ten thousand into battle,” he locked his gaze onto Kaara, “And I can tell by that crimson hair of yours that you must be Tika’s daughter?”
Kaara froze up. How did she respond? She could just say ‘yes’ right? No, wait. Nobles always loved to do massively long introductions about themselves. How did Tulos do it?
“Ah, I am Kaara Tibur, daughter to Tika and Septis Tibur…Huntress of the Altix!” She added.
“Ah, a huntress at your age? You must be quite talented.”
Her mother put a hand on her head, “She is my apprentice, though she’s still a year or two off from being considered a true huntress, her magical prowess is far beyond her years,” Tika boasted.
“Is that the case? I did hear word that a Tibur recently defeated a young Xirxus in a duel. Was that this one?”
“No, not her, but I’ve no doubt she can hold her own against anyone her age.”
“That may be a good thing then, I don’t doubt the young boy would want to avenge his disgrace. But there may be hope for the Tiburs yet if she is not the only strong child of her generation! Now, don’t be shy, come along. We’ve much to discuss. We’re still waiting for the aforementioned Xirxus family as well as a few of the Emperor’s heirs.”
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“You must feel honored to be hosting such prime company.”
“Honored and thoroughly stressed, my dear! Honored and thoroughly stressed. Allow my staff to show your wolves to the stables.”
A couple of armored xiozi came up to them, one offering a hand to Kaara. She watched her mother take their hand, so Kaara thought it was safe to take it as well.
Kaara would have to steal glances at her mother for the entire night to make sure she knew what to do.
Inside Kaara saw polished black marble laced with veins of bright blue copper which pulsed with magical protection. It felt like walking into the belly of a beast, a breath of wind picked up, warming the air from the outside’s chilled bite.
It was temperature control far more omnipresent than a simple fire. Kaara likened it to when she and her father walked into the circle of dragon’s teeth. Glittering white stones floated about, cut flat near the top so that they could carry drinks, plates, and other confectioneries around.
In the center of the tower were twin staircases spiraling up towards the roof. There were several tiers to the tower with polished railings that several nobles leaned over to watch their entrance.
Kaara could see them whispering to one another. She decided to hold her mother’s hand. Her mother squeezed it.
It seemed like doing so didn’t just put Kaara at ease.
Braiken showed them around the tower, there was a ballroom, billiards, the private bar which Kaara was not allowed near, a terrace garden which extended to the outside but still remained insulated from the cold, and Marquess Braiken’s own personal art gallery.
There was even a dueling ground at the top of the tower where a crowd had already gathered to watch sparring matches between nobility.
A horn could be heard from the inside, “Ah, it seems our other guests have arrived. If the two of you will excuse me.”
“Of course.” Tika said with a curtsy that Kaara scrambled to mimic behind her.
As he left Tika curled her tail over Kaara’s and breathed a sigh of relief.
“What’s wrong mama?”
“It’s nothing.”
That was the same ‘nothing’ Kaara got whenever there was a Malaki near the camp growing up. Her mother was nervous, that much was obvious. She thought about how Braiken had addressed her. At first so snide and backhanded, but then a completely polite and accommodating host.
Although, Kaara got the sense that he had been showing the two of them around to boast his worth more than to be kind to them. There were a lot of paintings of Braiken, even outside of his own art gallery. Kaara didn’t really understand why he needed to constantly be looking at himself. Maybe it was some sort of magic he used to always look at everyone in his tower?
Kaara stared at the paintings, bobbing her head from one side to the other like an owl. The eyes did seem to move and follow her.
“What’s an ‘Alveridan’ mama?”
“It’s my old name. I got rid of it when I joined the Tibur clan.”
“Why?”
Tika smiled, squeezing her tail, “Because your father wouldn’t come with me, and my mother- your grandmother- pushed me away.”
A loud metallic hum rang throughout the tower, calling everyone’s attention to the entrance.
Braiken cleared his throat, speaking with his chest, “Introducing The Grand Duke, Godslayer of Yvian, Descendent of The First King Atriux, Soulbound to the Greatwyrm Lahxi The Profane Storm, Lord Kadmus Xirxus!”
Music blared throughout the tower. Kaara had no idea where it was coming from. It was like the winds themselves vibrated to a tune without an instrument in sight.
“And introducing his children, First born Amaro Xirxus, Second Born Anitus Xirxus…”
Kaara recognized the tiger striped xio from a few months ago along with his children. The white haired boy named Amaro locked eyes with her. She looked away, not really sure if she was the one being looked at or not, but not wanting him to suddenly challenge her to a duel to avenge his brother’s loss to Arik.
She stole another glance back at him. What was that smug look on his face for?
“...and now introducing His Grace The Emperor! Godslayer of Itaro, Successor of the late Empress Valoria Bravalos, Inheritor of the Ziikiro, Soulbound to the Greatwyrm…”
This guy’s introduction was longer than Kadmus’s. Kaara was starting to nod off again.
“May his reign be long and his mark on the stones of history carved deep…”
So many names. Kaara’s head was swimming with names and titles. Did any of them even mean anything or was he just making things up at this point to see if people were still listening?
“...The Great Ilmalak Alveridan!”
“What?!” Kaara shouted with an echo that silenced the room.