milliways_bar | (no subject)

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Ramon's in the bar early, despite wishing he was still upstairs. But, things to do, and there are reasons why it's not a good idea to have weapons in his room right now. Something to do with the company.

Anyway, he's cleaning three pistols, a rifle and his sword. Bit tricky when one arm is virtually out of action but hey, he's got time and nothing else to do right now. Distractions would be welcome though.

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"Better as in...the closer to human looking. All light and nice. Honestly the only real difference is that the Seelie don't have the hair color of spun rubies and they hide behind illusions. As long as it sounds and looks alright, it must be alright. We of the Unseelie don't hide behind illusions. If something is wrong we confront it, not hide from it."

Doyle doesn't see things as 'bad'. He's a guard and warrior, it's his job to kill, and that's usually considered 'bad'. While, the killing part anyway.

Looks like they have something in common. Ramon snorts in disgust.

'Illusions are a pile of shit.'

Succinct, if not elegant. He's starting to think he quite likes Doyle after all. Or at least, approves of the idea of facing things.

'Who's in charge then? Fairy stories where I come from say that Oberon's the King of fairies. It's all bullshit, on Earth at least. Different story here though.'

There's a grin from Doyle. "I highly agree."

Would it help the liking process to know that Doyle is fluent in sword work? Cuz, he is.

"In my world the Seelie Court is ruled by King Taranis and the Unseelie Court is ruled by Queen Andais. There are sub-courts within those, but those are the highest ruling bodies."

It probably would actually.

'And what do you do then?'

It's not quite 'what's the point of you?' but in that vein. He's generally rude to new people just to see how they react.

There's a lazy blink at Ramon. His face is easily blank. Dealing with Ramon is easy compared to dealing with the Queen.

"I was the Captain of the Queen's guard, but have recently moved my services to that of the Princess's. Being that the Princess is mortal, she has more need of me."

Dealing with Ramon is generally easy, if you realise that no, he's not kidding about things and what you see is pretty much what you get.

'Bodyguard? Well thats...noble.' He'd sneer, if he hadn't recently sort of become one himself. 'How come a Princess is mortal if the Queen isn't?'

Doyle sometimes plays games. It depends on his mood, as shown earlier when he was a cat.

There's a small shrug. "It keeps me in the inner circle of the High Court, as well it makes me higher in rank than most save for the royal family." And then there's the unmentioned loyalty that most people have for their King or Queen if they have one. "The Princess has mortal blood that flows through her. From her mother's side of the family. Her father was the Prince of the Unseelie, brother to the Queen."

Ramon frowns.

'Wait...what? The Princess is presumably the Queen's daughter, right?' He laughs. 'What, she fucked her brother?'

There's a shake of his head. Royal politics are almost worse than American ones.

"When the Queen doesn't have any or many children in order to keep the throne within the same bloodline, nieces and nephews of the Queen can be considered Princesses or Princes. The Princess is daughter of the Queen's brother, Prince Essus, and a Lady from the Seelie Court."

'Ah, OK, that makes sense.'

Not as much fun, but sensible at least.

'And you're...just her bodyguard?'

What? His mind lives in the gutter mostly.

There's a faint smile. It's never as fun as people would hope really. He tilts his head ever so slightly to the side.

"No."

Well, it's his lucky day because the guard usually take up residence there.

There's a grin and he waves a waitrat over.

'Want a drink?'

Yeah, he likes him.

There's a dark chuckle.

"Scotch?"

There's a tilt of his head towards the sword, because it's inevitable for him to not ask. "How good are you with that thing?"

Two scotches are ordered - doubles naturally - and he relaxes back in his seat.

'Pretty good. I can't claim to have spend my whole life learning or anything because a few weeks ago I would only just about know one end from the other. But it became necessary that I learn fast so I had a bit of help.'

Magic is a good teacher.

'Why, you fight?'

That earns a spark of curiosity. "Why did it become necessary?"

Magic is good for a lot of things.

There's a dry smirk from Doyle. "You could say that. Several centuries of practice on my side."

'Because I took a job, kind of.'

He lights a smoke off the end of the last one.

'Friend of mine needs someone that can do the sorts of things I do. I'm in a bit of a predicament back home so its no problem to stay away from there really.'

The last bit is a big lie. He has trouble reconciling staying away from Columbia.

'But no guns where he's from, so I had to learn sword. Sorceror helped me out - so I'm as good as someone of my age would be if I'd been training all my life, but no more than that.' Grin. 'Come talk to me in a few hundred years and I might have a go at beating you then.'

There's a nod and a small grin. If Doyle can tell that Ramon lied, it doesn't show nor will he call him on it. There's really no point to.

"Lucky for you, and your friend. Most people don't like to use swords anymore where I'm from." Small click. "Aren't you mortal?"

'Lucky? Well, maybe.' He grins. 'My buddy's a pain in the ass so I guess we'll see how lucky I am.'

He stretches awkwardly and then relaxes back in his seat. 'Mmmhmmm. Am. Was. Well - it's complicated. Easy version being that my friend is alive for the next five hundred years, so to look after him properly I am as well. I can still get killed, I just don't age in the meantime.'

"Doesn't that just help to keep you on your toes?" Notice amused here.

There's a small nod as he leans back in his chair. "Magical help for that too I assume?"

'Sure, but not always in a good way.' The current events in the bar being a good example. Arithon's not that easy to keep tabs on, the sod.

'Of course magical help. Only not for the eight day walk to get to, and back from, the magic fountain of course.' He pulls a face. That had been an unpleasant trip. 'But yeah, it's done now, and irreversible. I just have to survive all the wars to stay alive and make the most of the years.'

He's quite looking forward to it. He likes fighting.

There's a curious tilt of his head. "Giving you more trouble than he should?" Understating things is a gift. Really.

"Magic fountain?" There's a slow blink because he didn't know there was a fountain for that kind of thing. "Wars are easy once you get the hang of the fighting style and the way other people are fighting." Wars, he knows. He's seen and been part of a couple.

'He's just stubborn. And likes things his own way.' He waves it off because really, he can't blame him for it and is the same way himself so he's not one to be throwing stones in the glasshouse.

'Yeah, there's a place in his universe, on a desert world. The water is enchanted to give life for five hundred years. Damn useful thing but it only works once, you can't keep taking more.'

He would, if he could.

'You've fought in them then?'

"I've found that most people that are fairly dominant in their ways are like that." There's a shrug.

"Interesting. Sounds quite useful for people that are mortal. Though it doesn't surprise me that it'd only work once. Magic tends to have quirks that may or may not be good. And yes I've fought in wars. Not always ones with a sword though. Magic is freely used in wars between the Faerie."

'Arithon thinks being given an extended life is a curse. He hates that everyone dies around him.' Ramon is unconcerned. 'It doesn't bother me - my partner's immortal and I couldn't care less if everyone else dies.'

He finishes his drinks and waves a rat over to order a bottle.

'I guess more people die if magic is used? What sort of stuff can you do with it?'

There's a small lift to his shoulders. "I've lived long enough that I've gotten used to humans dieing around me. Though I haven't really the time to get too attached to most mortals. Some people get used to it, or don't care from the beginning. Others it never seems to get easier."

Doyle follows suit, finishing his drink.

"People can die faster if magic is used. And it depends on the Sidhe's ability or abilities. Some have the power to call old blood, which is basically calling every old wound you've ever had onto your body at once. The Princess has the hand of flesh, which allows her to turn a person's body inside out. And the list goes on, some worse some better."

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