Despite sitting in the same carriage as Diana, Titanyana seemed to be doing everything in her power to avoid talking to Diana. Annoying for sure, but Diana didn't have much she wanted to talk about anyways. Instead she was content to observe Titanyana, trying to figure out how her different features conveyed her emotions.

She had cat-like ears and a tail, making feline behavior her point of reference, but that in no way meant she had to act the same. For example, her ears were far more responsive to emotion than the cats she was used to. They flattened forward and to the side when she was sad or ashamed of something, which coupled with her small stature and tendency to tilt her head downwards made her rather endearing. Diana would go so far as to say Titanyana looked cute in such a state.

Of course she would never tell her about that, at least not for the moment, but she did wonder if that was learned behavior. Assuming she was telling the truth about being an only child, Diana could see how such cutesy behavior could be utilized to help convince more doting parents to submit to her demands. Diana didn't think she did it intentionally, Titanyana didn't strike her as that sort of person, but there was definitely a chance that she had developed these habits subconsciously.

"Would it be appropriate to ask about your parents?"

If Diana wanted to learn more about Titanyana's mannerisms, she would first have to see them. It was time to go fishing. The ear closer to Diana turned to face her before Titanyana's face had even begun to turn. She had seen her display this behavior before, in the bath. It might only be a way to better hear her, but Diana assumed there was also a degree of social conditioning there, perhaps the Nekh equivalent of eye contact to convey that you have their attention.

"That should be fine, I think." She was quiet, but far clearer than she had been in the bathroom. Perhaps the lack of humidity and white noise had an affect, but Diana wished to believe they were making progress.

"Then tell me about your father. I would be correct in assuming he is the monarch or your people, would I not?" Diana felt she had a fifty-fifty shot with this one. There was likely a male dominated system in place, but the fact that they had decided to send their only daughter and heir to the Sanctum despite their lack of riches suggested they did not place much importance on such a system.

"Mhm. My father is the son of the previous regent, but he is the youngest of his brothers. Succession is determined by combat, so he was the strongest when my grandfather died."

Diana wished to think of such a succession system as barbaric, but seeing that so much of societal ranking is determined by split and the like it probably wasn't too terribly uncommon of a way to go about that sort of thing. "Do you think he is still the strongest?"

Titanyana shook her head, her tail curling around into her lap. "No. My uncle is definitely stronger now. My father has grown sickly as he aged." She began to stroke her own tail, a depressed look on his face. "Many people do nowadays."

"Does your uncle wish to take the throne for himself?"

"No. He fancies himself a general, and he knows that there is no glory to be found in leading a dying people. He loves my dad as a leader just the same as everyone else."

"I see." Diana couldn't get much of a picture with only that, but she could imagine that the Nekh had a somewhat more stable reign than most others. "Do you think your father is a good king?"

Titanyana's face mood fell further. Obviously, Diana was touching on sensitive topics. "I used to."

"What changed?"

Titanyana turned her eyes up to Diana, who noticed they were starting to water. "I met you two."

'Aaaaaaaah, beans.' Diana finally pieced together why she seemed so insecure. "Do you really think we're that special?"

Titanyana nodded silently, causing Diana to sigh before frowning. If she saw them as vastly superior in every way, then it followed that she would be less than enthusiastic about opening up. She still had her pride, pride was important for leaders in certain ways, and their very presence seemed to trample all over it. Diana had a sneaking suspicion that the fact she was bested by Donovan so early in their training only made this worse, combat being her last remaining area of expertise over the two of them.

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"You really think us better than your father?"

Titanyana nodded again. "I had a feeling before I left, but I've recently pieced together the fact that father is not the brightest. I also used to think that was okay, it was not a ruler's duty to be smart, but to be strong and have charisma, to be a leader." A tear formed in the corner of her eye before she continued. "It isn't enough, is it?"

Diana held her breath. A lie would not do good for their future relationship, but she couldn't bear to break the girl's heart. With a heavy heart, she exhaled. "Not by our standards, no."

Titanyana only barely kept herself from bawling, and it was obvious she could not hold for much longer. Diana had to change the subject, fast.

"What about your mother?"

Titanyana only began to sob harder, that was evidently not the right move. Feeling defeated, Diana moved to the other side of the carriage and hugged her. It was really the only thing she could do in the moment.

"There, there, it's okay."

Diana knew the feeling of loss all too well.

- - - - -

Rize waited patiently for the carriage to arrive. They hadn't exactly agreed on a time owing to the volatility of carriage availability in this part of the Sanctum, but sometime around noon was probably a reasonable assumption. Still, it was boring just sitting there on his trunk with nothing better to do.

He'd loved to have assisted his mother in the kitchen, but there weren't many customers today. Besides, if he did that he would be depriving Pinishi of her fun. There weren't many kids her age in the area, and she did very much enjoy talking to patrons.

In the end, Rize was just stuck waiting out front of his parent's tavern keeping watch over his stuff and praying that Kelly and his goons didn't show. It was boring, sure, but he could always pass his time by consolidating his core. He was good at it, and it was fun.

Perhaps an hour into his wait, he heard the distant sound of hooves. A carriage was almost certainly approaching, though it was not certain that if it was destined for him. There were a few destinations he cold reasonably see someone wealthy enough to afford a carriage heading to in the region. It was important to not get his hopes up here, as even small emotional turmoil could cause him to lose some of his hold on his internal split.

It wouldn't be deadly, it wouldn't even injure him, but he would likely end up having to let loose an hour or two's worth of split in order to stop the imbalance from growing.

With that in mind, he recognized that the carriage was coming closer, which was his signal to wind down his little bit of self improvement for the moment. It was highly unlikely that a carriage headed his way was going anywhere else. Opening his eyes and looking to the source, he began to collect himself. He had to be presentable, not just now but for the duration of his stay.

Sure enough, a carriage rounded a distant corner and began to slow down as it approached. Rize nervously brushed away the last traces of dust he suspected might be stuck to his clothes and assumed a position a respectable distance away from the carriage door.

"Okay Rize, calm down. They weren't that stuck up, were they?" Rize, despite being the grandson of a wealthy merchant, was sorely lacking in what nobles would consider quality clothing. "Yeah, yeah, they won't mind if I look a little rough around the edges, surely."

Fully convinced he would not be an embarrassment, he exchanged a kind greeting with the driver before the door opened. He watched as a pair of fancy shoes made contact with the ground, followed closely by a pair of more rugged combat boots.

Rize was just about to greet the two of them, before his mood suddenly turned for the worst.

"Ah! If it isn't my future son in law! I see you have your bags all packed up and ready to go as well! How pleasant to see that you've finally come to see things my way. Now, shall we talk about the engagement?"

It was Lord Kelly, his ample gut sticking out over his bedazzled belt. More than anything else about his physical appearance, from his perpetually shit-eating grin to his horribly kept fingernails, Rize could not stand that gut. His reason for hating it wasn't even that rational, he just hated the way it covered that otherwise stylish belt.

As a matter of fact, that seemed to be a theme with his hatred of Lord Kelly. If one were only to look at what he owned and wore, they would believe him to be a fashionable and wealthy man, but it simply did not match his physical appearance. If anything, the expensive clothing he wore only made him look that much more disgusting.

"I'm not out here waiting for you, sir." His hostility was tangible. "Now scram. My mother told you not to come to her tavern anymore."

- - - - -

By the time the carriage began to come to a stop, Titanyana had stopped crying. She was still being held by Diana, and holding Diana just as tightly.

"I think its time to do work, Titanyana. Can you stand?" Titanyana nodded, her soft ears brushing up against Diana's arm. "Can you hold your sword?"

"Mhm."

"Good, because it seems like there is some sort of commotion outside. Might I ask you to exit first and make sure its safe?"

"Mm." With that, Titanyana returned to her less expressive self. Her eyes were still red from crying, but overall she remained presentable. "Ready."

"Thank you, Titanyana."