15[17:57] Piu awakens to the sound of gulls. [17:58] 4... 15[17:59] The gentle swaying she feels as her conscious mind surfaces briefly suggests she's about to be gripped by a phenomenal hangover, but moments pass and she remembers she's on a boat. She 15[17:59] She's home! Back at last from the Five Day Fight. [18:00] 4Aaaah. And she's alone in bed. Or hammock. Or whatever. The boy saw himself out. 15[18:00] What does she do before she rises to meet the main deck and the morning air? [18:01] 4Stares up at the ceiling for a bit, in her thoughts. Nothing worth mentioning. Then she rolls out and gingerly begins making her way up to somewhere she can stretch and do her morning exercises. Gingerly, because five days of fighting weren't precisely helped by partying last night. 15[18:05] Five Days Fight, followed by five days' rest and relaxation and more than a bit of well-earned celebration. Many of her fellow shipmates are working through worse mornings than she, lacking either her comparative restraint or the maturity of her blood. And now that they've docked, they'll be making hasty efforts to clean up and cover for their adventures. [18:10] 4When they pull in, she's doing a one-handed handstand atop one of the masts, then takes a deep breath, pushes off, and plunges to the deck-- [18:11] 4Only to land in a perfect roll and bounce to her feet next to the handsome sailor waiting with her travelling bag. [18:11] 4Piu gives him a dazzling smile and accepts her bag. 15[18:16] People give an appreciative cheer, both on deck and on the docks, for they've settled in at Eagle's Launch, home base of the Merhcant Fleet and so, the seat of power of young House V'Neef. Piu finds that her cheering fans skew young, and she's not surprised - the Five Day Fight and its heroes have always been great story fodder for the glory-hungry youths of the Dynasty, especially 15[18:16] Lost Eggs shepherded safely to V'Neef's bosom. [18:17] 4She turns that same dazzling grin on them, gives a little twirl and a curtsy, and waves to the adoring public. She's polite enough to even entertain well-wishes -- oh, especially from that one -- but quickly she'll start looking for a carriage or something. She's happy not just because she won, but because winning means that, for the first time awhile, the head of her House should [18:17] 4be happy to see her. 15[18:24] An emas-pulled carriage awaits. Waiting beside it to help her in is the reassuring and irritating V'Neef Catala Sujip. He is the matriarch's best-regarded babysitter. "Five glories for the fivefold champion! Advance news of your Most Excellent Victory brought us all great joy! And now your presence, moreso!" [18:25] 4Even HE can't get her down today. "Catty!" 4she chirps, knowing how he hates that pet name. [18:26] 4She will, however, give him a quite genuine hug. Even if that's not up to decorum. 15[18:27] Sujip grins and returns the hug. Giving her a careful once-over at arms' length once it breaks. What's Piu wearing, and is she visibly injured or unpresentable? [18:29] 4She's got on a generic, laundered dynast's robe that's functional and even shows more than 10% less skin than the minimum socially acceptable amount, and it covers up the huge brusie on her shoulder. Well, mostly. You can still see a bit of it near her collarbone. [18:29] 4Under that are training bandages and wraps, which aren't NECESSARILY covering up bruises, but they're color-coordinated and hey, it's like wearing long pants. Kind of. 15[18:34] "Splendid and radiant as ever, my dear cousin! Verses praising your strength and beauty are being penned as we speak." The carriage breaks off from the broad shipping boulevards to pull the carriage through the crookeder streets of Eagle's Launch. Piu can't see outside the carriage, but she hears cheers and applause as they bounce onward. [18:35] 4She soaks it in. The people are pleasant to her on a usual day, of course -- but it's sort of painfully obvious that it's because they're pleasant to all of the Blooded. Because that's kind of how things work, in the Realm! This is the first time it's felt like she's earned it. 15[18:36] After trip is underway, Sujip turns to Piu with barely restrained excitement. "I wanted to wait until you had a chance to settle in, but I cannot. There is the most amazing news! Once you've had a chance to clean up, you're to be at the Matriarch's right hand for noon prayers. She will honor you by name." [18:36] 4Piu literally squeals. [18:41] 4It's been...well! It's been awhile since V'neef HERSELF wanted to see her! Let alone formally present her! 15[18:43] Two sun-yellow emas birds pull the carriage through the gates into the central V'Neef compound. The very air brightens and sweetens as they pass through fountained flower-gardens personally tended by V'Neef herself. The carriage slows to a halt and then Sujip allows Piu to make her dismount from the carriage however she sees fit for the small cluster of servants waiting for her, flanking 15[18:43] the Matriarch's head-of-household, V'Neef To. 15[18:43] "All glory to the Most Excellent Victor!" she calls in her warm, cracked voice that sounds old coming from so youthful a face. [18:45] 4Piu's face freezes, then the smile gets wider. "Aww, thank you Auntie To!" 4She bows deeply, but doesn't go in for a hug. 15[18:55] To doesn't offer one. It's for the servants flanking Piu to offer her balms and treats and heated towels as the group of them make swift time up the steps into the central palace. "And with nary a scratch on you. You are truly blessed." [18:56] 4Her grin is positively saccarine. "Oh, I had help." 4The gets to sit for not even half-a-second. "Heaven was with me!" [18:57] 4She turns and hugs Catala Sujit again. "Cousin, would you give us a minute?" 15[18:59] V'Neef Catala Sujip bows thrice to the both of them and withdraws. "I am to bring you into audience with the Matriarch an hour before noon, cousin! Blessed indeed!" He departs giddily. [19:00] 4She turns back to V'Neef To, still smiling. "Shall we, Auntie?" 15[19:05] The two of them continue on briskly, as the servants trail in their wake. "You were informed, I'm sure, of the gracious honor you will receive at the noon prayers. I'm pleased to tell you there will be a banquet tonight in your honor. Many important personages will be there. You may be invited to say a few words in advance of the mealtime prayer. Will you prepare your own remarks?" [19:06] 4Piu keeps the smile on her face. "I would value your input, Auntie." 15[19:14] The pair of them enter a side room where a table set with tea, bread, and fresh seafood awaits. To serves Piu tea as she speaks. "As you're aware, the matriarch is locked in negotiations with Peleps Bruna, of the Admiralty Board, any remarks you directed toward the bonds between our two houses would be well-received." [19:21] "Oh thanks!" 4She sips the tea, listening attentively. "Mmmm. I've heard of her. She sounds smart." 15[19:24] "Quite. So it would be perhaps too forward to direct your remarks at Admiral Bruna directly. But her daughter, Ratel, should be more receptive to praise." [19:25] 4Piu giggles. "Oh, my. I don't know Peleps Ratel. How old is she? Is she cute?" 15[19:29] "Peleps Ratel is renowned for her intellect, having given some fifty years of service to the naval college of the House of Bells. I think her companion is about your age, a Cynis Caxi. A very gentle word should do, obviously the bulk of the negotiation is happening behind closed doors." [19:30] 4She sips her tea. "Of course, Auntie. Is there a tack you think I should take in particular?" 15[19:32] "I'm told they're all but inseparable. Perhaps a few remarks on their bond." [19:35] 4Piu nods and smiles. "I think that'd be really nice. Honestly I'm so pleased you want me to speak so soon after I've gotten back from the Fight!" 15[19:38] "Oh, just a few small words. As I said, no one expects you to conduct negotiations from the dinner table. And if I can confide..." 10To closes the door so passing servants can't hear. "I believe you'll only be here a night or two anyway. The Matriarch herself is said to have a task fit only for our new champion." [19:39] 4The smile immediately mutes. "As you wish, Auntie." [19:39] 4It's still there, of course. [19:39] 4It's just not as silly. [19:40] "I will do as the head of our Household demands." 15[19:41] "Good. Eat up, dear Piu. Clean up. Dress up. Sujip will be back before you know it." V'Neef To leaves V'Neef Piu to her breakfast and her thoughts. [19:42] 4The smile fades, and she leans back and sighs. So much is expected of her now. [19:42] 4Then she'll send for a brush and scroll. 15[19:46] A short time later there's a knock at the door and Piu admits a positively buoyant Catala Sujip. "The Matriarch's conference is breaking up, I'm to escort you to her. Are you prepared?" [19:47] 4Piu: "YES!" 4She gathers herself quickly. "I mean. Yes, Cousin!" 15[19:55] Sujip leads Piu past an assortment of guards - quite a heavy deployment, actually, for reasons that soon become clear - and into the rotunda that serves as a lobby and waiting-area for the Matriarch's personal study. The meeting is indeed breaking up, and Piu recognizes High Admiral Peleps Bruna, her wavy aquamarine hair standing out against the gentle yellows of the palace's sandstone 15[19:55] walls. She exchanges pleasantries with a figure past the threshold, too deep into the room to see from here, before turning out to face the rotunda and see Piu. 15[19:56] "Is this the vaunted victor who beat Peleps' prodigies over Calibration? All glory to you!" [19:57] 4Piu bows or clasps her hand to her chest to show respect to the Admiral if their paths cross. She's positively giddy by the time V'Neef acknowledges her, but keeps a lid on it. "Yes, Matriarch," 4she almost sqeaks. "Thank you, Matriarch." [19:57] 4Let's try that again. [19:58] 4Piu bows and clasps her hand to her chest to show respect to the Admiral. Graciously: "Thank you, honored Admiral." 15[20:01] "And yet you have the grace of a dancer about you. Scooping up Lost Eggs like you, it's no wonder V'Neef's spread her wings so far so fast. You are a true credit to your name." Bruna reaches out to pull Piu into a congratulatory embrace. [20:01] 4Piu will return it gladly but politely. 15[20:04] After it breaks, Bruna says, "Remarkable. I've got turtles older than your entire House and yet here she is. Here you are!" She gives Piu a solid shake of the shoulders, perhaps a bit too hard. "Come, Ratel," she says as she sweeps away, cloak behind her, as her matching-haired daughter keeps a shy step behind. Trailing Peleps Ratel is a dreamy-eyed girl about Piu's age who makes 15[20:04] lingering eye contact before they're all escorted away. [20:05] 4Piu's smile doesn't falter. [20:05] 4She does this...thing with her eyes, though. [20:06] 4Then they're gone. 15[20:12] Now the Matriarch emerges. V'Neef is shorter than Piu, looking radiant as ever with exotic flowers woven into her emerald hair. She smirks at the sight of Piu. "Home in one piece. Home a champion! Come here, my child, you must tell me all your exploits!" 15[20:12] The smirk is replaced by a smile that warms with each step forward Piu takes. [20:13] 4By the time she's halfway across the room, Piu has started skipping. [20:13] 4Can she go in for the hug here? 15[20:14] She can. [20:14] 4Then she will. 15[20:20] V'Neef lifts Piu clear off her feet like she were only a girl before setting her down and closing the doors behind them. "Oh, I'm so excited. Do you see what you're capable of when you can focus? And barely a scratch on you. Oh! Come and try this, these are a gift from Cynis Belar. Chocolates surrounding fortified one and candied cherries! I know, I know, it's early in the day - at 15[20:20] my age, anyway, I know what you all get up to when the elders' backs are turned." [20:20] !!! "Heeeee" [20:21] 4!!! "Heeeee" 15[20:21] "I was your age only a blink of an eye ago." And she was; at a mere 60, V'Neef is younger than the next-youngest Matriarch of a Great House by decades. She adds, sternly, "Now have you been drinking your maiden tea?" [20:21] 4She gladly eats two, and politely says nothing about the focus bit. Kind of still a source of shame. [20:22] "Pfffffffpt," 4Piu says around a mouth of chocolate. Once it's down: "Every morning before stretches." 4Semi-mournfully:" Everyone wants you to drink it until they don't." 15[20:23] "You'll have seen To already, I trust. News of your victory even put a smile on her face." [20:25] 4Piu's smile gets slightly more fixed for a moment. "Yes, I've seen Auntie. She was very pleased...to tell me of my upcoming social obligations!" 15[20:28] V'Neef: "Oh, the speech. Now, you can overthink these things! I won't say it's not important, because it is, but a speech at this sort of banquet is meant to be warm and inspiring. It's not a debate." She holds her scion close, brushing a stray hair from her forehead. "I'm going to miss you." [20:29] 4Piu lets her, smiling. "I'm not going away forever." [20:29] "..." [20:29] "...Am I?" 15[20:31] V'Neef: "Of course not. But it will be quite a long trip. You're heading west. Overseas. There's a task of great importance - and great discretion - and I'm committing my best young woman to the challenge." [20:31] 4She flops backwards onto a couch. "Ugh! More boats!" [20:31] 4Staring at the ceiling, considering: "But. More sailors." 15[20:33] V'Neef laughs merrily. "And what a resourceful young woman she is. Come! Come. Let's steady our nerves. Noon prayers are a very solemn occasion," she adds with half-mock seriousness. [20:34] 4Piu bounces up. Some people are social smokers, or social drinkers. Piu is socially pious. [20:39] 4Don't think she didn't notice 'best young woman' either. But Piu does have enough decorum not to completely flip out over that in front of V'Neef herself. 15[20:41] Prayers are uneventful, such as they are - Piu out there on the balcony with V'Neef at the center and Maaster Monk Shin on her left, the wide crowd of blooded, patrician, and even peasant worshipers below. As the Monk recites a litany on the strength of Heshiesh in the face of illiberal churls great and small, and the homily given by V'Neef herself praises Piu by name, she feels a 15[20:41] thousands of eyes on her. It almost feels like they're praying to her. [20:41] 4!!!!!!! [20:41] 4But she remembers to remain humble. This was onl-- [20:41] 4This was made possible by V'Neef. 15[20:43] From there, Piu has the afternoon to herself before the banquet. How does she spend it? [20:44] Since Mik Samperson isn't in town, she'll spend it with a long run, some forms, and some very light lifting. [20:44] 4Since Mik Samperson isn't in town, she'll spend it with a long run, some forms, and some very light lifting. [20:47] 4The bruise from earlier is now completely gone. [20:50] 4Before the formal, she'll bathe, perfume, and dress...not conservatively, but quite acceptably. She has a job to do, but she's not about to embarass V'Neef. And, well. The girl seems receptive, at least. 15[20:51] Then she'll be ready for the banquet - and she's got an invitation! A pre-dinner drink with Peleps Ratel. [20:52] 4... [20:52] 4Okay. [20:54] 4She does her makeup austere but attractive. A balance. 15[20:56] Peleps Ratel is in a stiff blue naval dress uniform, as you'd expect such a high-ranking officer to be before a state occasion. "My dear V'Neef Piu, let me be what must be the hundredth person to congratulate you on a hard-won victory over Calibration. A toast, to strength applied with cunning." [21:01] 4Piu giggles mutedly. "Thank you, honored Commodore. It is truly a pleasure." 4Is it just the two of them? Piu knows what a 'pre-dinner drink' from a much more powerful woman usually sets the stage for. Especially if servants aren't about. 15[21:03] "I wanted to take a chance to meet you privately before the banquet. I understand we're going to be spending some time together." [21:04] 4She blinks prettily and smiles. "We are?" 4Sigh. 15[21:06] Ratel: "I'm sure you've already been told of your secondment. You'll be sailing out under my command. We'll meet again at Bittern in two weeks and from there all the way to Abalone." 15[21:07] "Have you seen the West?" [21:11] "Oh!!" 4She's still wary. "No, honored Commodore, I have not. My postings have been mainly in the Threshold." [21:13] "What's the West like?" 4And where are the drinks? 15[21:15] Ratel pours out two glasses of wine - this is the good stuff, the stuff you actually get in trouble for stealing from the cellars, and offers Piu one. "Lavish. The wealth, the scenery, the weather, the people, the food - the very air is decadent." [21:18] 4Piu takes it with an 'oooh', and sips. She's had better, but not very often. This is 'impress you' wine. "Aaaah...that sounds so good. But we're not taking a fleet all the way out there for decadence, are we? I mean, I know you probably can't say..." 4She smiles and twirls her hair. [21:34] 4The next ten minutes are spent moving about the lounge and sending the servants away, and when they're done, Piu's sitting in Ratel's lap. Unless she pushes her off. [21:34] "...But you are a powerful woman." 15[21:38] Ratel is red-faced. Presumably from the drink. "Oh, mother would be dreadfully furious if I told you. It's the shame of the House! Her favorite daughter straying so far. Succumbing to madness." [21:38] 4Piu leans in. "Well, I'd never get you in trouble..." 4She brushes her cheek against Ratel's. 15[21:39] With mock gravity: "Dearest Furia thinks she's found the Empress. Absconded! With the other Northwestern Armada! To look for the Empress of all things." 15[21:39] "And then we'll all awake the next morning to find Calibration sweets under our pillows." [21:40] 4Piu is an adept in keeping her face from reflecting her mind. So no matter what's going on in the latter, the former just giggles and says, "Wowww. It's so amazing she's trusting you with this!" [21:42] 4If Ratel wants to cop a feel, well, she's not hard on the eyes -- pretty in that hard sort of way officers get -- and she's more than earned it. Piu certainly isn't about to leap off her lap all, 'well, I've got to go!' [21:42] 4But Piu's mind is racing. 15[21:47] Where Ratel's hand is straying when they're interrupted by a knock at the door is a matter for the Maidens. She straightens out remarkably quickly. "As I said, I look forward to working with you. My door is open," she says as the door to the room follows suit, "Day or night." [21:48] 4Piu grins. "I look forward to serving beneath you, Commodore." [21:49] 4And she's not lying. For one, she's had far worse jobs. For two, Peleps Ratel cannot be permitted to die. 15[21:50] People are already streaming into the banquet hall. Piu knows she's got a few minutes before she's expected to make her entrance. [21:51] 4She finds a trusted handmaid who has served both her and To for years and charcoals a quick message, then bids her deliver it immediately. The message reads in full: 'I'm out of morning tea.' [21:52] 4And she completely rewrites her speech in her head. 15[21:56] The banquet is a glorious affair, introduced by Piu and continuing merrily into the evening. Talk over the table is grave, but not incendiary - V'Neef and her Peleps guests both have cause to avoid agitating any existing grudges. Everyone's happy to talk about the war in Harborhead, or the Bull of the North colliding with a raksha army, leaving both sides obliterated. 15[21:56] How does Piu conduct herself? [21:58] 4She is pleasant and bubbly. She avoids giving Ratel or Caxi any smouldering looks, and doesn't look at To atall except for familial greetings unless directly addressed. She's effusive to V'Neef herself, of course. [21:59] 4That doesn't mean she isn't unfailingly polite to the Admiral, her daughter the Commodore, and...whatever official Cynis Caxi holds. [21:59] 4An important thing, Piu has already decided, is going to be cultivating Caxi as an asset, instead of making her jealous or depressed. [22:00] 4And if that means threesomes? Well, soldiers make sacrifices. 15[22:02] And V'Neef is effusive in turn. When the clamor comes around the table for a speech, what does Piu rise and say? [22:02] 4Oh. She also sent another handmaid off for some other information, and got it before they walked in. [22:03] 4And that's what's important here. [22:13] 4Because now it's show time. There's the usual ceremony, the usual patter before the meal, and then the Matriarch asks Piu to stand and give a toast. And with a very slight glance at V'Neef To first, she does. [22:19] "Here is to our honored guests in House Peleps," 4Piu begins. She lauds Peleps Bruna -- "the hero of the third battle of Gloam, damning the cannons" 4-- and though everyone thinks the toast is concluded, moves on to the praises of Commodore Peleps Ratel. She is, of course, the canny mastermind of "the Wu Jian Trade War, where those men apparently didn't understand the value of [22:19] turning thrice to port" 4and "the woman who put a jacket on the Traitor's Strait." 4Piu, smiling with the same inoffensive silliness as always, expresses joy in the union of their Houses in this moment, and great anticipation in the future ventures of the great fleets of House Pelep, wherever they may roam. In the name of the Empress, let us drink. 15[22:20] Everyone drinks. Even, after a heartbeat's pause, V'Neef To. [22:21] 4Only smart thing to do. [22:23] 4Piu spends the rest of meal being pleasant and demure, to the degree she's expected to be. 15[22:23] The revels break for the evening. Piu, after dinner, has two messages waiting. One, an invitation from Peleps Ratel and Cynis Caxi for a nightcap, the other a brief imposition by To on Piu's time. [22:24] 4She'll take the latter first. 15[22:25] To will enter alone, and shut the door behind her. [22:25] 4Piu isn't smiling. 15[22:25] She's frank. "Explain yourself." [22:26] "Do you know Ratel's mission." 15[22:27] "A third of the Water Fleet's gone absent without leave." [22:28] 4Piu's mouth twitches. "So you don't, Auntie. I do." 15[22:29] To: "Enlighten me." [22:29] "Furia went absent because she thinks she's found the Empress." 15[22:29] To's eyes go wide. "What did you say?" [22:29] 4After a pause: "If you still wish Ratel dead, I've been invited to her chambers to, I suspect, fuck. It can be done." [22:30] "But that was what informed my speech." 15[22:33] "Unbelievable." To presses her mouth into a thin line. The room is silent for a long moment. Finally: "You will be shepherded. You will be-- listen to me. You will be watched, and you will report daily. And don't flatter yourself. Ask yourself about the capabilities of a woman so easily compromised. What's the saying? Loose lips sink ships." [22:37] 4Piu: "Of course I'm going to flatter myself, Auntie To. All you've ever asked from me is to flatter myself. That's the V'Neef Piu you want. As for the rest, you have five resolutions and a mistake saved on my ledger in the last five days." [22:37] 4She grins that fake saccharine grin again. "So I think we're on the same page." 15[22:46] To slaps Piu full across the face. [22:46] 4Her face doesn't even move. [22:46] 4Well, that's not true. [22:46] 4She smiles wider. [22:46] "If that'll be all, I need to whore myself to a commodore tonight." 15[22:47] To: "Fair winds." She's out quickly and quietly. [22:49] 4The smile's gone as soon as To is out of the room. A long, long sigh. Then, back to her bedroom. Another bath. Perfume and makeup. A robe, and something scandalous under it. And by the time she answers Peleps Ratel and Cynis Caxi's summons, V'Neef Piu is actually ready to enjoy herself again.