Snippet #2668385

(OoC: First off: Unseen, I want to note that the trouble hinted at in the Introduction, has nothing to do with any of the nobility, Lords, or any other higher ups in Serenia. None of the nobility are corrupt, and the kingdom is stable. The danger comes from outside the Kingdom. Secondly, I feel you need to participate in the chat so that we can get a hold of you, and that you can talk to us to clarify details about the world. Please, do that. Communication is much easier there, and PMing is too clinical and email-y. Thank you.)

Alerted by the mental brush of his sister, Kanixillo paused, an ear pulling back as he listened. Something off in the castle? Hm! *Alright, I'll check it out.* Maelstrom, a truly massive Dire Wolf, and one of a set of twins, looked up from grooming his violet swirled left foreleg, mismatched violet and blue eyes watching the Lycan as Kanixillo set down his tools and pulled off the jeweler's goggles. "Queen wants a security check at the Audience hall. You and Vortex are requested as well." Maelstrom pulled himself to his paws, shaking out his black coat and padded silently from the shop, Kanixillo pausing long enough to flip the sign on the door to 'Gone Out', lock up, and shift to his birth form.

The citizens of Skysong city were accustomed to Lycans; with Serenia being allied to Lycaernus, and Kanixillo in particular being a common sight around here, no one shrieked at seeing him in his birth form, nor did the look sideways at the fifty inch tall wolf padding ahead down the street. As they reached the castle gates, Vortex, a mirror image of his brother, with a lighter pendant dangling from his neck on a silver chain - while Maelstrom bore a pendent that glowed with dark, storm like lightning, and a heavy asymmetrical bangle on one foreleg - joined his brother at the gates, the twins padding side by side, shoulder to shoulder and giving wolfish greetings before turning to business.

Kanixillo passed through the main doors that the guard held open for him, lifted his nose to the air as he entered the chamber that stood outside the Audience Hall, taking several testing sniffs, and running through the various scents that the air brought to him. Elves, the Lords and lesser nobility, and a few people from the Southeast Quarter of the city and the Riverside Trader. One human... Not quite human? Hm! Interesting smell. Mingled with mud and velvet. It was plenty of minutes old, but he set it aside as he caught the smell of a Lycan. An Elder no less.

He kept his face expressionless, ears relaxed and listening, as he casually made his way toward a scent as one of the elves of the Court passed through the doors to the Hall. The scent was seconds old, and not in the right spot. And no one was murmuring about an elder. That felt wrong. It wasn't Aliath or Aleyana. This was one he hadn't met yet; older than the two Elders in charge. A male. Healthy. But not in this particular spot. A gruff woof from Maelstrom turned his head, mane falling over one shoulder as his ears perked. "Yeah?" "Inside."

Kanixillo grinned, turning and padding to the Herald. "Has there been a Lycan in here other than myself?" The Herald looked at him in surprise, then shook his head. "No, Lord Kanixillo. Just you that I know of." The Lycan nodded then pushed the door open, admitting himself and the wolves. Maelstrom and Vortex took the right side, following the Queen's scent out into the gardens to check upon her. Kanixillo, meanwhile, followed the Elder's scent, slowing on silent fours as the scent reached peek strength. Golden eyes swept the area in front of him. Seemingly nothing, but his ears could pick up the sounds of breathing, and a heartbeat. "It's rude to sneak into the Queen's castle without an invitation, y'know. I shouldn't have to be telling an elder such a thing."

A ripple passed through the crowd, as the lords, returning from their breaks, paused, heads cocking as they listened. The mental announcement from Briena that the rest of the day was free of Audience duties brought a few amused smiles to some men's faces. They all knew her adventurous spirit. Sometimes she needed to get away.

The crowd dispersed, the nobility filing toward the door, while the lords filling in their rotation for Court dispersed into the castle, perhaps to their suites to rest, read books, etc.. Soon, the room was empty, the Audiences over. "Care to tell me, one Lycan to another, why the hell an Elder would sneak into the Queen's castle, instead of showing himself respectfully?" His drawling tones were conversational, ears pricked toward the spot he could hear a living being at.