Unexpected Return

[hourglasspriest]

This is not the library at the Keep.

Before he lets himself get annoyed about it -- his nature won't let him be completely calm about such things -- he casts around with his senses. Almost immediately, he knows that this isn't the Shadow Realm or Terreille, and if he doesn't know what Hell feels like, then no one does. He can catch a whiff of

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[cannotresist]

Paulinka is out again on the porch, as usual, reading a book. When she sees the new arrival, she gives him a small, friendly smile. "Hello there."

[hourglasspriest]

His rage is so close to bursting out at any convenient target that, at first, Saetan means to ignore the Landen woman he sees on the porch, but when she speaks, he realizes he cannot. Centuries of self-discipline, especially regarding the fragile Landens he used to help rule, come to the fore, and he draws himself up.

He is a handsome man, marked as a Hayllian by his dark skin and golden eyes. His black hair is barely frosted with silver at the temples, which is almost the only sign of his great age that is easily seen by someone who doesn't know him, or Hayllians or Guardians.

"Could you tell me where I am," he asks directly. His voice is deep and rich.

[cannotresist]

By now, she's used to odd-looking or strange-seeming people, so she doesn't bat an eye.

"The Mansion," she replies promptly, still friendly.

[hourglasspriest]

The simplicity of her reply surprises him yet again, but it doesn't tell him anything useful. His eyes flick up to the house and then back to the woman. "Who rules here?" he asks next. His need for information is far more important than being polite. It was polite enough that the she wasn't dead, and he was speaking to her at all.

[ebonyjaenelle72]

Jaenelle has still been mildly unhappy, lately, but she's recovering, gradually getting better (we won't know by how much until she's done talking to Caranthir). But there is one thing guaranteed to get her out of moping, and he head comes up like a shot. A moment later, she is bolting down the stairs nearly two at a time, blond hair flying behind her, and going to tackle him with impulsive and unrestrained affection. "Papa!"

[hourglasspriest]

The very rapid approach of that particular presence, with her soothing psychic scent, almost alarms him. He has few precious seconds to assess her mood before she's in his arms. By then, Saetan just knows he needs to relax for her.

He hugs her. "There you are, witch-child." From how she's acting, she's being his daughter at the moment. Behaving to her as her father would soothe the ruffled nerves of his arrival as much as anything could. He could still sense other around, but now he needed to take care of his daughter. "I didn't know you were missing, and I find you here." The statement is an implied question. He hopes he doesn't have to ask it directly. He isn't sure he likes it here.

[ebonyjaenelle72]

She hugs him more tightly. "Well - it's very hard to explain, Papa - I wasn't missing, but I've been here for months and months, and Lucivar even longer, and I've missed you-"

He's comforting, in so many ways. She hasn't thought of the complications yet.

[hourglasspriest]

He's perfectly happy to keep her there. He knows she's as safe as he can make her in his arms, and when he knows where she is, he's more than content. "Months? That seems--" unlikely. With only the vaguest suspicions, he mentally looks over her more closely but can really only sense how volatile her emotions are.

"Please tell me all about it."

[eyrienprince]

Lucivar's been walking a dangerous line himself, along temper, but that startles him out of his stalking annoyance where he's practicing by stripping the trees of lower branches, out in the woods. That psychic scent - for a moment, he's jarred, and sharply, but then he notes the undertones and adjusts, though before he's sure he's already moving to intercept his father, though when he's actually close enough his pace checks, almost nervously. "--High Lord?"

[hourglasspriest]

Saetan senses his approach more as a dark Jewelled Warlord Prince, then he notices the color of the Jewel and looks closer. There is only one Ebon Gray Warlord Prince. He starts to relax his inner defenses and to pull down his rage to greet his son with something of a pleasant demeanor, but as soon as he begins he realizes how near to the edge Lucivar is. That bristles him again.

So sadly, it is still a deadly cautious High Lord of Hell who turns golden eyes to face the Eyrien warrior. "Prince Yaslana, could you explain where we are?" The unspoken question, which he could ask but doesn't, either on a psychic thread or out loud, is What the hell has you so upset?

[eyrienprince]

Lucivar's gait gets a little more wary, slightly, but only a little. He tries to reign his temper in, knowing that his uneasiness and unfocused anger will only set Saetan off, and he doesn't really want that. "I could try. I won't guarantee it'll be very coherent, this place doesn't make any bit of sense."

He ignores the unspoken question. It doesn't need to be answered, not this moment.

[hourglasspriest]

Cautious, still formal, Saetan nods. "But a report from you can be trusted as reliable, unlike the information I've had from others. They could have been lying. Why are there so many... who feel as if they have power but aren't Blood?" He knows that there's a danger keeping this tone, but the formalities also help. They're supposed to help riled Warlord Princes know what is allowed and what isn't.

[tomboy_22]

Anita... kind of snapped out of her day-dreaming when Saetan arrived, and the feeling of power was almost too overwhelming to make any sense of it, for a while.

She'll be around, presumably after he's found his children, typist willing, and poking at him curiously.

Certainly, with her metaphysical cocktail, she's probably one of the most uncanny psychic scents he's ever dealt with.

[hourglasspriest]

Later, when he's calmer, Saetan tries to sort out the myriad other scents bombarding his psychic senses. The threads here are all confused, and the area much too small to need to ride the winds anywhere. But now he knows that there are relatively few Blood here. And separating them out helps him realize how many other little puzzles there are.

He seeks out Anita as one of them. Saetan, when he's not in a rage, is unfailingly polite. He tries to catch her eye, but realizes she's been watching him. "You are a mystery, I admit," he tells her, inviting her to say what she will to him.

[OOC: I got through all your chars and then remembered there was someone who was polite enough to wait and then had to go back and find the phrase I'd missed this a.m.]

[tomboy_22]

The comment is met with one lifted eyebrow. She tilts her head to the side, as if examining the man who addressed her without saying hello or introducing himself. At least he almost complimented her.

"I suppose I could say the same about you," she replies, not bothering to hide her curiosity.

"But isn't it customary to introduce oneself first? I mean, before bringing up all the juicy and intriguing things?"

[hourglasspriest]

"I didn't think you'd want to know." That isn't quite true, but he doesn't want to admit being caught out on a point of matters. He isn't sure what Protocol would dictate for someone not Blood who smells so psychically strong, so he gives her a modest bow. "Saetan SaDiablo." He leaves off his titles, because he thinks they'd be meaningless here.

[cyranosavignien]

Cyrano is mostly busy going wtf and trying very hard not go gape from the desk where he was writing a love letter to Wilhelmina. He does drop his pen, though, and in his effort to retrieve it, spills the ink.

Because seriously, Saetan is made of scary stuff.

[hourglasspriest]

The landen would not merit Saetan's attention except for some scent hovering around him. Still not making any effort to hide the deadlier part of his nature, Saetan stops a moment. He uses Craft to right the ink bottle, but can't do anything about the ink except vanish it. Then he frowns at the man. "If you have a moment, I have several questions." His voice is low and silky, still very dangerous sounding, but he is making an effort to be civil. He silently calls in a shield in case the landen gets murderously stupid, but other than that, he simply regards him with golden eyes and waits for an answer. In the back of his mind, he's reviewing all the scents he's known. It's definitely a witch he senses.

[cyranosavignien]

The good news with Cyrano is that though he is a puny little Landen, he's also very brave and relatively used to the strangeness of the Mansion, by now. "I suppose you will have questions about this place, then, Monsieur," he replies, and he stands, bows, politely, his hat already off his head.

"Please, be seated, I will endeavor to assist you as I can."

[hourglasspriest]

Just the courtesy is stunning. Saetan doesn't usually bow to landens. He seldom needs even to speak to them. But he bows back, and then takes a nearby seat. His every movement is graceful and controlled though. To be sure, he isn't letting his guard down just yet. "I am still trying to understand how this... Mansion can be so populated and exist peacefully with no one--" And here he thought to be cautious with word choice, too. "--governing."