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[goldtoes]

I'm still not sure this is a good idea. [ One of the House war strategists is talking as he leans over the map table, pinning areas of territory and marking out the border with their biggest stalemate, a point of contention with one of the only supply routes into the North. ] The other staff says the boy-king has been nothing but hell since he's arrived. [ Perrin pauses, punches another pin through the parchment. ] ... more than usual.

[ And he isn't wrong. They had come in early in the morning, just after dawn, in carts pulled by thick-coated draft horses; it's all unusual. The boy-king, Kyrnar, is seen by almost no-one even as he's stashed away like precious goods, tucked into his quarters with a pair of enormous kingsguard at the door who look like they could snap somebody's head off with a flick of their wrist.

There's something off about all of it.

Not least is the fact that he's on time for this meeting, which happens almost never; something smells off about him, too. The chilly smell of ice and omega sweetness has been replaced with something gentler - more a mark of motherhood than saccharine fertility. He slinks in, still so thin he might shatter (though Idris has never managed to break him, so there) as he gingerly takes his seat, white-blond and sharp-eyed and already agitated. He looks - unwell. A touch pale, cheeks flushed, seated uncomfortably as if he isn't sure how to.

It's warmer, down here, and though there's a pelt draped over his shoulders, the rest of his clothing is replaced with things more appropriate for summer. On his bone-thin frame, several months pregnant is enough to show, and out of protective instinct more than conscious decision, he drops one hand to cradle the curve of his round little belly as he leans forward to tap on the map with breakable fingers. ]

Quickly, then. I have no inclination to be down here longer than I must. Talk.

Comments

same tbh i'm alive but it's mostly a technicality NEVER BE SORRY IT'S OK. forgot how awful kyr was

[goldtoes]

[ Perrin would disagree, but then, the poor man has already set about repairing his map, pulling in light and leant over it, pressing a transparent membrane - sausage casing, probably - over the tear with his fingers. Perrin is mostly used to snark.

Not that Idris is exactly unfamiliar with that. ] And you better not lose any of the rings, [ case in point - Kyr floats across the room toward him when he's retrieved, reaching up to begin prying small ties and rings from his mussed hair and palming them. ] Do you know how much of a nightmare it is, this kind of thing, at home? Boiling water and dumping it into the tub. It takes a thousand years.

[ But he tastes of salt and the sea for a reason, and he slips into hot water and fragrant herbs, shivering. He isn't used to being wrapped up in such heat - the pipes freeze, in the north. It's simply impossible. ]

(ಥ﹏ಥ) ty, bless u.... he is an entertaining kind of awful

[gremyr]

I'd better not, you say? [ Or what? Kyr will unleash his tiny rage on him?

Idris smirks at the thought. He only has the gall to even think of it in the first place because Kyr is so displaced from his usual power. Were he in the North instead of the other way around, he'd worry Kyr might have his hands sliced clean off. It is, after all, the sort of wild and exaggerated reputation he's grown for himself.

He hums as Kyr sinks in to the water, scooping up his abundance of hair and pulling it outside the tub before it's soaked. Idris takes up a seat at the head of the tub, combing his fingers through the curtain of white to loosen his braids and remove any lingering decorations. ] I imagine it does. [ They've had to resort to such things at times, thanks to an unexpected cold snap or an old pipe breaking. The repetition is miserable, and the wait is even worse. ] That what happened to the back of your legs? Too much back-and-forth with water pitchers?

[ He says it lightly, like a bit of a joke, clearly fishing for the story. There's a lot about Kyr that he just... doesn't know, but he would like to learn. ]

he's a wretch & i love u

[goldtoes]

Mmhm. [ Kyr doesn't hold power here, and they both know it. They both know that it's an immense experience of trust for him to even allow this - the fact of it is that plenty of other leaders would have taken the opportunity to pull him away, vulnerable, and then slit his throat in a back corridor. And then - well, what would happen to the leadership in the North? Kyr's advisor would take hold of it, but there's no telling if he'd be better or worse than the little goblin himself.

He's laughing, then, tipping his head back into Idris' fingers as he combs his hair out. ] My father, actually, but I assure you they were well deserved. [ Corporal punishment is commonplace, among the ice. ] Besides. I've seen worse. My favorite house staff is missing his tongue, though I was too young to know what it was he said that got him in trouble and now nobody seems to actually know, so it's a mystery. [ He shrugs like this is normal. It is not. ] I was just switched, mostly, when I was young and - believe it or not - more rotten than I am now.

[gremyr]

[ Murder had been a briefly touched-on topic of discussion within Idris' circle in the past. What's a bit of poison? Smothering in the night? It's simple and could easily be waved away as sickness- the boy-king being unable to thrive outside his chilly native climate, perhaps, or catching some unfortunate illness unable to spread in the North. But the idea had been shelved. Information about Kyr's ranks always seemed to linger frustratingly out of their reach, and, well. Better the devil you know than the one you don't, and all.

Idris begins to brush Kyr's hair properly while he speaks, first at the bottom. He barely gets started before he's pausing, startled by the story. Swats on the hands or behind aren't all that uncommon here either, but cutting tongues? Lashing children thoroughly enough to leave permanent reminders? That's a bit too far, isn't it? ] Well. If you're still rotten then it's proof that switchings aren't effective, isn't it? [ He frowns. Effective or not, the thought of whipping scars in to his pup's tender little legs makes his stomach turn. ] There will be none of that with ours.

[goldtoes]

[ More laughter, brash and clumsy. ] I suppose it is, [ he concedes this, amused, tipping his head from one side to the other. He wonders what Idris will think of the way the North is run - the way house keep their heads down and their mouths shut. After Len lost his voice, well - staying out of sight and out of mind was safer. Best not to be noticed. ]

All right. [ No switching children. And the brutality is a holdover from his father, more than it is Kyr's doing - he tends not to care as long as things get done. He's loud, screechy and childish, but not particularly cruel, not really. ]

[gremyr]

[ Kyr is forming a habit out of surprising Idris with how easily he agrees. He expects Kyr to always be as stubborn and argumentative as he has been with war negotiations, but look at that. He's an actual person beyond one-note, how weird.

It is nice. Idris leans forward, ghosting a kiss against Kyr's head. ] Thank you. [ The tension leaves Idris' shoulders as quickly as it came and he sits back again, continuing to groom Kyr's mane of hair. ] Is this common in your line? This hair. [ Maybe he'll pass it to theirs, if so. Idris would like that. His own is dark, as is the norm here, and it seems to swallow many other colors it's paired against. His grandmother was a foreigner who married in- her coppery red hasn't been seen in the family since.

Idris imagines it would be improper to dislike how his children look, but he can't say he wouldn't be a little disappointed if he never got to see any of Kyr in them. ]

https://i.imgur.com/k6rwnqz.jpg colors are FUKD but whatever

[goldtoes]

[ He's not as hostile as he seems, is he?

The truth of it is that he's very young, and very scared, and he was left in charge of an entire kingdom at twelve - sure, his father had groomed him for it, but that wasn't enough. Not really. He was barely able to do arithmetic and reading and suddenly, a small world was dropped in his lap. The truth of it is that Kyr doesn't know how to get anybody to listen to him other than to shriek about it. ]

Mm? It is. Well. I think so. I'm an only child, but my cousins all have it. My father did. And my grandparents... and so on and so forth. It's common there in general, I think - if not as light as mine.

nO that is such a sweet pic! why is he cute and pretty, it hits idris right in the feels

[gremyr]

[ Not as hostile, and more cheeky than expected. He'll take the trade-off. It's cute.

Idris' nod likely goes unseen, but it's there. The news is comforting. His imagined picture of a tot with Kyr's hair and his own gold eyes lives on, and is devastatingly adorable in his opinion. ] I'm surprised you're an only child, really. [ Most wouldn't stop at just one, much less for an omega child... Perhaps it's for the best, though. If Kyr had been displaced for an alpha sibling, the war would probably never end. ] Were you that horrible?

LAUGHS i drew his favorite house staff too but deleted it bc i hated it so much n u haven't met him

[goldtoes]

[ Kyr's laugh is nice, if harsh. It's got a raw youth to it, sort of, and he bubbles with it again, sharp nose crinkling. ]

Close, but no. My mother died when I was born, and my father never took another mate, so here we are. I imagine he'd have liked to have one, since - well. He was always of the mind that omegas in positions of power are a bad idea.

And, [ he cracks one eye open and glances over his shoulder at Idris, grinning his coy, dimpled little grin, ] was he wrong?

idris will do his best to get kyr semi-domesticated before he sees him again

[gremyr]

[ It's a bit of a gloomy topic, but Kyr's laughter is appealing. He looks pleasant and so much more his proper age when he's not scowling and glaring daggers. ] I wouldn't say he was exactly right. [ Idris huffs an amused breath, his fingers working Kyr's hair in to a single loose braid. It's not as neat or as intricate as what he'd started out with, but it'll do for now. ] Maybe it's not ideal. Don't you think you've done all right for yourself though?

[ He hadn't been disposed of or married off as a child. They'd allowed him to grow and rule on his own, surprisingly. And he's kept his place... ]

a small blessing

[goldtoes]

[ Were Idris anyone else, he might have fussed about the loose braid, but as it is, he simply lets it be. Idris could have done almost anything and not gotten snipped at for it. ]

Yes, of course I have. [ He says it like it should be the most obvious thing in the world. ] I'm good at what I do, after all.

[gremyr]

Which doesn't include washing yourself. [ Is this Idris flirting? It's dreadful.

But fun... For Idris at least.

He coils the slack braid in to a pile atop Kyr's head and pins it in place, keeping it out of the way and freeing up his hands. ] Let me do it? [ There's a hopeful quality to his voice when he asks, already seeking out a fluffy bathing cloth, wetting it and dousing it with a fragrant cream without even waiting for Kyr's answer.

There's no practical reason for Idris to wash him. It's an interruption, actually; his own clothes are filthy and still need to be changed, but he wants to do this instead. The urge to bond and build familiarity is devastatingly strong in Idris. ]

[goldtoes]

Picky, picky, you have such high standards... [ Kyr hums at him, singsong and playful, but he nods. His hair is... er, less than desireable, but the usual braids and rings and rows take hours to do even with experienced hands. ]

I suppose. Tell me something interesting about you. Something I don't know. [ He lapses into content silence as Idris bathes him, narrow hands splayed cozily against the underside of gentle, pregnant curve - and, after several minutes, reaches up to grasp his wrist and press the free hand to the skin, very specificially against the left side where the barest flutter of movement flickers against his fingers. A tiny smile pulls at his mouth. ]

2020 IS ALMOST DEad more celebratory tags coming soon!!!

[gremyr]

[ Idris grunts in objection; he does not have high standards. The opposite, really! He's always been lax and easy to please... Except, perhaps, with horses. Those are important for many things, only the best will do. And food- also very important, if a little indulgent, but surely that's forgivable. And architecture, which is expected to be sound while easy on the eyes without being ostentatious. Maybe he has particular preferences for a few more small things as well... That's not so much to expect, though, is it? Everything is much less wasteful in the long run when something is done correctly from the beginning... Oh, hell.

His lathering slows to a pause, his eyes staring blankly at the smooth surface of the water below. ] I... I have high standards. [ He says it like he's disappointed. Kyr asked for something interesting he doesn't know, not something he'd plainly stated moments ago. But the realization is new for Idris, so it evidently counts as fresh, unknown information.

He huffs. ] I- damn. [ He'd like to sass, but the words won't quite come to him. Then his hand is commandeered, pressed against Kyr's belly, and the salty attitude melts away rather quickly. A grin brightens him when he realizes what the flutters mean. ] ...Is it making fun of me? It is, isn't it. Stop making me sound like a fool in front of my pup. [ Idris' complaining is warm despite the words, and though he teases, he does wonder- does it hear him? Does it know who he is?

His index finger lightly taps against Kyr's skin, greeting the little thing inside. ]

THANK GOD WAVES MY HANDS IN THE AIR but i actually care very much

[goldtoes]

You what? [ Kyr is laughing, leaning in to press a kiss to Idris' jaw in an effort to soothe the distressing revelation he's just, apparently, sparked. ] I was teasing. And, [ he quirks a tiny smile, slender fingers winding through Idris' to lace them atop warm skin, and from beneath it there's a flutter in response to the tap. ] you never look a fool. Although, if they were making fun of you, I'd have to point out that half of them are from me, and I think the first thing I ever said to you was probably making fun of you, so...

[ So the apple maybe didn't fall far from the tree, and Kyr was under no impression that he was an especially nice or generous person. ]

[gremyr]

Hmm. [ Idris is too easy. The corner of his mouth curls in to a lazy smile, the kiss and words melting him just as well as the faint beats of movement under his hand.

The first thing Kyr said to him had been something jarring and rude, hadn't it? The memory makes him chuckle. ] Well, I doubt whatever this one is saying packs the same sort of punch. You had at least a few of my people doing their best to knock you dead through will alone. [ It was only magial ability they lacked... Lucky for Kyr.

He gives Kyr's belly a little rub before his washing resumes. ] All the movement is a landmark occasion, isn't it? You should have a full-time attendant around this time, I think. [ It's common here, anyhow. ] Have you brought yours?