Southern Water Tribe :: Southern Water Palace ~ Twins x2

Last edited by LadyKura on Wed Feb 15, 2012 7:32 pm; edited 3 times in total

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

To say that Cassian was looking forward to visiting the Northern Water Tribe would be all truth in its entirety, but Cassian's blank mask was steadfast, resilient. Emotional expression was a difficult thing for him. To make matters worse, he had not seen Castiel all day. The ship was an imperial liner, and so was only accessible to the royal family and all its servants, selected nobles and guests. The constant formality was beginning to irritate him, so he subconsciously sought out his twin below deck. Kihana and Roman were with their nurse .. somewhere. He was not concerned for them.

He found Castiel, unsurprisingly, cooped up in one of the offices. He was going over diagrams and charts and books and doing other frivolous shit that made Cassian grimace, such as smoothing out the wrinkles on his tunic and running his fingers through his hair. So engrossed was the other boy in his work that he did not notice Cassian's presence until he spoke.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

Honestly, he had expected his brother to jump, but Castiel's hands remained steady. "I was going over some things Father and I discussed. He wanted to introduce new trades to the Southern Water Tribe, and figured this would be a good opportunity to get that started."

"Are you kidding me?" Cassian asked, cracking a smile. "Didn't father tell us to just enjoy ourselves? Why the hell are you pattering around in here?"

Castiel opened his mouth to reply, but it was at that moment a voice bellowed over the intercom, announcing their arrival to the Southern Water Tribe harbor. Cassian and his brother went out on the deck, back into the freezing cold, and allowed themselves to be led to a walkway. At the gates, security fumbled around, demanding certain things from their guardians. Once the men were satisfied, Castiel, Cassian, Kihana and Roman were given bows respectively, and escorted inside the city.

The journey to the Southern Water Tribe palace was yet another mini-trip involving a system of boats and canals very similar to the ones back home. Cassian developed an odd sense of deja-vu, but it was obvious the Southern Tribe was more independent and free-willed than the Northern. There were also not as many people.

Cassian gave a start when Roman sneezed. His brow twitched. It was obvious his little brother's health was very fragile. However, the woman in charge of his care and well-being had failed to clothe him appropriately for the cold. Roman did not have any gloves and, annoyingly enough, his head was far too exposed. He would have to have a 'talk' with his nurse later. If his brother had come down with something --

"Look!" Kihana shouted, her voice full of excitement. It was not her first time coming here, but it was just her second, and the looming structure that was the Southern Water Tribe palace still excited her. Castiel smiled and pulled her into his lap.

The palace was an extremely impressive thing. It amazed Cassian how, despite possessing the same crafts and tools, this palace turned out so different from its northern counterpart. After a bit more conversation and confirmation, the small family was finally allowed to enter the palace. Kihana and Roman were led away immediately by two women, no doubt to get some food.

"Where are Kaida and Kael?" Castiel asked, looking around.

A nearby page answered his question, "They are being informed that you are here as we speak. Please, wait patiently." He bowed, then left. Cassian frowned. Wait? He supposed it couldn't be helped. With Kael being a prince and Kaida a princess, their lives were understandably very busy.

The twins stood silently, waiting patiently for their aforementioned hostess and host.

Kael sat in his office, wearing unfitting silk robes while reading over a trade document with the Earth Kingdom. He already knew he was going to confirm the trade, but after his struggles in his first year as king, couldn't let documents go unread twice. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, amazed that there were no tangles in it today. Probably the result of Roslyn brushing it while he wrote up a grant.

"Sir, so sorry to interrupt you, but I have a message." Kael glanced over his shoulder to see one of his attendants standing in the doorway.
"Ah, no, it's alright. I was wrapping up anyway." He turned around in his chair and smiled at the man. "What can I do for you?"
"The Northern Water Tribe royals have arrived, sir, and await your greeting."
Kael frowned and stood up. "Has Kaida been told?"
"GOD DAMMIT WHY DO THOSE PRATS ALWAYS SHOW UP AT THE WORST TIMES?!" Kael flinched at the sudden outburst, and his sister stormed into the room. "Tell them to leave, I'm in a bad mood."
"Obviously. Kaida, they are our guests and we will treat them as friends like we have before. Now calm down and make yourself presentable while I go greet them." Kael sighed and walked out of the room, folding his arms into the sleeves of his robe. The cold never bothered him anymore. She needs to grow up and learn some manners. I swear, one more outburst and I'll.... "Ah, hello!" Kael smiled warmly as he rounded the corner to the foyer and saw Castiel and Cassian. "Sorry I wasn't here to greet you property, I was informed late of your arrival. I trust everything went well?" Kael started off the conversation with his usual politeness and small talk. This was how he started talking with everyone, even his sisters.

| Prince Castiel |

Spoiler:

Castiel returned the prince's smile, genuinely happy to be in his presence. Cassian, meanwhile, seemed to be surveying the lobby. It was no doubt he was searching for any difference since their last visit. When he finished his little observation, he looked at Kael and nodded, offering a little smirk.

"Everything went fine .." Castiel started, clearing the distance between them. "The voyage was very successful and everyone was comfortable. I only hope we did not come at an inconvenience; you must be very, very busy." Being a king, Kael was understandably occupied a lot of the time. Anuk had scheduled this visit very early in the year, and it soon became annual for the twins to visit the Southern Tribe once - maybe twice a year. The kids have known each other since they were very young. Kael became something of an inspiration to Castiel, who anticipated his crowning with each passing day. Kael, becoming king so young, naturally needed a lot of strength and charisma to pull it off.

"Where is the Ice Queen hiding?" Cassian intoned suddenly, his eyes suddenly very sharp. "Is she brooding in her bedchambers?"

"Don't worry about troubling me, you two come every year around this time. But sometimes my mind flies away." He shifted his attention over to Cassian, who was looking seemingly anxiously around the foyer. Before Kael could speak, Cassian interjected his thoughts.

"Where is the Ice Queen hiding? Is she brooding in her bedchambers?" Kael sighed, something he'd been doing a lot lately, and shrugged.

"She's becoming increasingly difficult. I told to her get ready but - ah, wait, that would be her now." The tell tale mumble of insults drifted down the corridor and within a matter of seconds Kaida had entered the room. Her hair was half covering her face, and her mouth was drawn tight and her eyebrows were pulled together. She stopped next to her brother and glared at Castiel and Cassian.

"Hey," she said. Kaida had never been one for conversation, and while she liked the Northern twins, she had a bad habit of acting like a total B*tch in front of them. She did a quick body scan of Cassian and raised an eyebrow, trying to see what looked different about him this time. One thing she did enjoy was picking out differences between Cassian and Castiel.

"Sister please," Kael reasoned, giving her a sideways glance. She ignored him.

"Where's the little ones?" she asked instead.

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

"Kihana is terrorizing your kitchen as we speak. Roman is with his nurse." Despite not being far in age, Roman was constantly ill and therefore could do very little. Kihana was a bundle of energy and excitement that never ceased to entertain Castiel and piss Cassian off. In short, Kihana and Roman frazzled the twin's nerves in two entirely different ways and left little room for compromise. Although they had gone to get food, Cassian doubted they would eat.

"They've been doing very well," Castiel said, employing his annoying habit of giving unwanted information. "Kihana seems skilled at music and is quite the socialite. Roman's speech is getting better. He also walks easier."

It sort of hurt to hear Castiel praise the things Roman should have accomplished when he was one or two, not four years old. Cassian shoved the ill emotions to the back of his mind and instead focused on the two in front of him. Castiel still sported a charming, beautiful, absolutely insufferable smile on his face. It was nice to see him smile genuinely, though, unlike the fake ones he offered to stone-faced politicians. Oh, how those made Cassian want to slam the other prince into a brick wall.

"I know your lives isn't all paperwork and battle dynamics," said Cassian, undeterred by Kaida's perennial attitude. Nothing changed about her insofar as her personality was concerned (Kaida had, he noted, gotten somewhat taller), and Cassian wondered why he and Castiel hoped her identity would be any better with each letter or visit.

The girl was not like this before her mother died. Moody, yes. Exuberant, yes. Fiery, yes. But not a downright B*tch, and personally found this unattractive. "What do you all do for fun around here?"

Kaida snorted. "You know. You've been here enough." Kael ignored his sister's rude attitude and beckoned to the twins.
"Can I get you two something to eat? I know how boat rides can be, and I'd like to see Kihana and Roman. Roslyn should be here too, but I never know where she is nowadays...." He tilted his head and smiled in his playful way, then started down the passageway to the kitchen.

Kaida followed her brother and fell into step next to Cassian. In all truth, she was glad to see him and Castiel. She liked then and secretly looked forward to their visits so she could talk to someone other than the Southern people. But no way would she ever show that emotion to anyone. After her parents died, she became more afraid than ever of taking off her mask. She didn't want to become attached and didn't want people to attach to her. It was so easy to make people hate her, even though it crushed her to be alone. She craved the company of people but didn't know how to show it.

"How long are you staying this time?" she asked Cassian, letting a soft tone slip into her voice.

Roslyn was out and about, she didn't get to see the Northern Tribe people arrive. Her blond hair was gracefully combed down her back. Roslyn had combed Kael's hair this morning. She smiles to herself.

Roslyn walks back to the palace just as her brother was taking the guests to the kitchen. "I'm back." She says to nobody in particular.

| Prince Cassian |

Spoiler:

Castiel pounced on Kael's offer, enthusiastically but also very politely insisting they head to the kitchens straightaway so they could all sit down and enjoy brunch. Cassian was torn between a snicker and a smile. Were they alone, he would have teased the elder twin mercilessly. It was no secret that Castiel loved to eat. He was hardly sloppy about it, per say, but something about food gave him a 'euphoric rush' as he called it. The glutton shamelessly divulged the sheer relevance that eating was to him. Why, if he could taste every sample of food - every recipe - he would be in heaven, and Cassian grew tired of hearing the other boy rave on and on about the miracle that food was.

Apart from Castiel's comical enthusiasm on the prospect of food, Kaida seemed to be making an effort to be polite. Cassian and Castiel had begun to follow Kael to the kitchens, keeping the perfect pace with him. Castiel, of course, was beside him ("How do your kitchens run? All day? Because I certainly hope your cooks are not on some kind of break. I would hate to disturb them.")

Cassian was drinking in the impressive architecture all around him -- the tapestries, candles, wrought-iron displays and even the servants were beautiful. The walls, of course, were cool to the touch, but the inside of the palace was warm. It was very much like back home, and yet different all the same. Once again, he noted these people seemed happier. Much less subdued. Anyway, he was doing all this when Kaida spoke up:

"How long are you staying this time?"

Cassian looked at her. "No longer than a month," he said shortly.

Suddenly, a young girl with blonde hair appeared. Roslyn.

"I'm back," she told them. Whether she had addressed them all at once or was just speaking, Cassian was not too sure.

"Hello!" Castiel greeted with a warm smile. "Roslyn. How are you?"

Cassian, never much for pleasantries, grunted intelligibly and paused. Roslyn was only two years younger than he and Castiel, and Castiel made a point to constantly look after the girl, checking up on her condition. Cassian was not too interesting in such things. So, he stood mutely next to Kaida, about as aloof as he'd always been.

Kaida said nothing. If they were staying a month, maybe she could hang around them more. No, she thought. Something bad always happens when you start being nice to people. She frowned and tried to focus on something else. Her eyes drifted to the beautiful artwork that decorated the palace. Every pillar was expertly carved with delicate hands, all the tapestries were beautifully sewn, and all the effort and love that went into each piece in the palace showed. It wasn't really her style. She appreciated the effort of the artists, but didn't have the attention span to love the paintings and architecture.

It had been Kael's idea. He had immense love for all things beautiful, and he could stare at a single painting for hours on end. His eyes saw things hers didn't; saw the depth and meaning in everything. Paintings, architecture, tapestries, even people. She would never be able to have that ability or understand it.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw her sister stride up to them. Her long blonde hair was swept back and a small, perfect smile was on her face. "I'm back," she said to the air, not really speaking to any of them. Cassian grunted in response next to her, and Kaida stayed silent. Her fingers brushed his for a moment, then she folded her ams across her chest and looked away.

"Hello! Roslyn. How are you?" Castiel was always pleasant, and Kael responded similarly. "I'm glad you could join us, Ros." He smiled, his eyes flashing through a hundred different emotions while he observed her. Kaida knew them. He was worried, wondering where she had been. He was happy that she was here. He was surprised at her sudden appearance. He was curious as to what was going on in her life. But most of all, he felt love for his sister whom he rarely saw anymore.

"Hi Castiel! I am good. How are you? How was your trip here?" Roslyn says to Castiel, then turning to her brother ignoring Kaida and Cassian. "It is a pleasure to be here, seeing as I haven't been home in a while." She says to Kael.

Roslyn has been here and there, more like everywhere. Talking with towns people and practicing her water bending. She was just glad to finally be home and rest for a bit as well as talk with Castiel and Kael or she could stay for a long time.

She runs a hand through her hair.

» Address to the Citizens of the Southern Water Tribe: This Is War
» Enlist in the Southern Water Tribe Military!
» Revvy - A Southern Water Tribe Bender
» Princess Roslyn Mist of the Southern Water Tribe
» South Pole: Southern Water Tribe ~ Sasuno'o's Revenge