Though Texas had been born at the seaside in a herd land under the jurisdiction of the Chamber of Evil, the bay stallion is not sure that he has ever actually set hoof in the kingdom. He probably has, in some war or other, but the precise memory escapes him. The path he walks is, for all intents and purposes, a brand new one.
It’s high noon, though the lanky stallion is shielded from the sun by a thick canopy of pine trees. He’s nearly at the border of the kingdom (the scent of horses is growing stronger) so he stops for a moment. For a moment he considers a nap, or perhaps looking for any nearby water, but just as quickly changes his mind and moves forward to stand at the edge of the kingdom.
He can see some movement through the trees, and narrows his brown eyes to get a better look. He can see nothing distinct from this distance though, and after a while he abandons his pursuit with a shake of his head. The motion causes his thick mane to fall across his eyes and he huffs irritably. Texas is slightly vainer than the average horse, and though he is usually covered in various bits of grass and mud up to his ankles, he had made an effort today. Or that might have been yesterday. Well, sometime in the past week. Anyway.
He’d rolled around in the waterfall for a while to get off the worst of the dirt, so he is clearly a dark a bay stallion with fewer than the average number of cuts and scars than is typical in a wild stallion. Fewer as in none, but it is not the immortal’s fault that his inherited gift came along with the somewhat bothersome trick of healing without visible scars. He carries the smell of the Falls, and his black mane is streaked with grey. Texas' dark face is starting to look grizzled despite his otherwise “in his prime” appearance. He lacks the so deep it’s obvious he’s immortal look in his dark eyes, instead he looks a little curious and a little devious. That is to say, he looks much the same as he does any other day (maybe a little cleaner).
T E X A S
immortal silver bay hybrid stallion
king of the falls
 We are at war. There will be scars.
Erebor has made it his business to be absolutely everywhere in the Chamber of Evil. Not in the way that most children are, where they are everywhere because they are frolicking and playing and enjoying themselves. No, his travels are for a far more adult purpose. He intends to learn every inch of his home, to grow into his rank as a prince in title as well as in breeding.
When he catches a glimpse of the dark bay stallion on the fringes of the Chamber, he is not surprised. Maybe he'd be surprised if he knew that they were, in fact, related; however distantly it might be, somewhere in his blood there was a little bit of Texas. But he doesn't know that (and Evie wishes she didn't know that, she's had some nightmares about finishing out those lines).
The noon sun shines on Erebor's black coat as he changes his course to approach the stallion. Perhaps he should be afraid, considering that he's barely more than six months old. But he doesn't fear very much. He's inherited his parents' bravery, and it manifests itself in a downright unnatural prepossession, a way of being that is terribly older than his years. He walks without a wobble, his posture dignified and refined, his bearing almost military. He is big for his age, taller and better muscled than would be expected from a colt not even six months old. He has no vanity, but is concerned with his appearance as a reflection of the Chamber. He would never allow himself to disappoint the kingdom he loves.
He reaches the border proper and comes to a graceful stop. "Hello." he greets, his voice neutral. It is a pleasant voice, more mature sounding than it should be, decidedly different from the squealing and giggling of the typical foal. "Welcome to the Chamber." he offers politely. He's a naturally serious boy, but he's rapidly learning how to be charming when the situation calls for it.
He's still too young to be able to properly determine that the stallion reeks of the Falls. No doubt his mother, father, or any of the other relations that might be kicking around would pick up the scent immediately. But he is only sure that the stallion is a diplomat because he comes alone, and because he is waiting patiently outside the border. Beyond diplomats, who would even know where that was? If not to avoid insulting them, who would halt? "I'm guessing you come on business?" he says pleasantly, easily, a small smile on his face. "I'm Erebor." he considers adding his title, or mentioning his parents, but that can all reveal itself in time. He's not sure where they stand with the other kingdoms, and he doesn't want to tip his hand. Not until he knows a little bit more, at least. Erebor Native Prince of the Chamber warship x straia
i want the world in my hands
 Ah, more diplomats. She’s still wishing they would give her time to talk it all over with her own kingdom. Not that they could possibly know this, and realistically she probably should have talked it over by now. But she had been waiting for her governor to decide if he still wanted to be governor or not. He decided yes, so now perhaps they could get underway, though she’d been too damn busy trying to recruit and give birth and all that good nonsense to really get much else done. Recruiting, truthfully, was top priority.
Though today the diplomat smells of air and trees and water. That is to say, of the Falls. At least she knows that she has no plans of making the Falls an enemy. The Chamber could house no healer, and so she would need their waters. Though of course, for all she knows, they may want to make an enemy of her. Time to find out.
Her son is already there. She wonders what Warship had been like as a child. Erebor takes after her more as she is now (though he’s far more polite and charming than she often bothers with, though she’s capable of both). But as a child, Straia was certainly a child. A clever little thing, yes, without any real need of her parents (good thing too, given that her mother was murdered and all). But she enjoyed acting like a child on purpose – a petulant, bothersome little princess. It had amused her then, and had served her well. Such an act would be terrible now, and so she’s adjusted. But still, her son is all work and no play apparently.
Erebor greets the newcomer just as Straia comes to a stop beside her son. They don’t look particularly alike (Erebor is all Warship in appearance), and so it’s not readily obvious that she’s his mother. Nor does comment on the matter right now. Erebor doesn’t need her support in that way, and so unless it seems useful, she’ll let him act as a diplomat in his own right, young though he may be. “Straia, Queen of the Chamber. What can we do for you?” She bothers with titles. At least Queen. Not because she wants to rub someone face in it, because it saved time. Inevitably he will need to ask if Rodrik still rules if she doesn’t tell him, so she’s just saving a step.
straia queen of the chamber
The colt that approaches him is Texas’ favorite kind of child. He is neither dirty, crying, nor seeking attention. He’s also weirdly well-balanced, a trick that Texas has yet to master, but perhaps they have walking classes here in the Chamber. He wouldn’t know.
“Thanks kid,”he replies, nodding his dark head and looking around. This might be the only horse coming to meet him, he decides. The Chamber is either impressively self-assured to have child diplomats, or sadly under-manned. “Uh yep,” he replies to the question about being here on business, and then: “Oh yeah. Right. I’m Texas, from the Falls.” He might be an advisor to a queen, but that means very little in terms of his skills. Texas knows what he wants and can usually manage to get around any barriers in his way. That does not make him a silver-tongued politician. He might make it though.
When an older mare comes to stand beside the colt, Texas looks over curiously. She’s equally unfamiliar, just as he expects her to be, and introduces herself as the queen. Since Texas has absolutely no idea who is ruling anywhere besides the Falls, there is no surprise in his eyes at her title, or curiosity regarding the whereabouts of the former king. For the most part, Texas doesn’t care, and even if he had, it’s none of his business. He’s been known to pry of course, but he could not care very much less about who rules the Chamber.
He nods his head politely, as one does to a Queen that does not rule their own kingdom. “I came to see how the Chamber was doing; We heard the disasters reached pretty much everywhere.” That sounds like a good reason, though he could swear there was anoth- oh yes. “Oh, and we have a new Queen – Shatter Me. Our waterfall was damaged in the drought, and we wanted to see if that changed our standings with the other kingdoms. We have a limited supply of healing water.” His drawl is slow despite the seemingly uncoordinated babble of his words, and were it not for his sharp eyes he might come off as a fool off on his first lone mission. He is, of course, both of those things, but best to seem worse off than he is.
T E X A S
immortal silver bay hybrid stallion
king of the falls
We are at war. There will be scars.
The boy is almost amused to find himself (arguably) the better diplomat of the two of them. He's so young, and yet he knows he's always been at the head of his class. Admittedly here within the Chamber, that's largely been a class of one, but still. "A pleasure, Texas."
It is not long before his mother arrives, and the boy is not surprised. He does not shift closer toward her, does not feel the need to lean on her like perhaps so many other colts would. He simply notes her presence with his sharp eyes, and then turns those eyes back to Texas.
He listens to the older stallion's words with rapt attention. He considers it a personal failing that he knows so little of the other kingdoms, and he's made it a personal goal to get out and see more of each of them. He knows the basics by now – for example, he actually knows what Texas is talking about when he mentions healing water – but he isn't overly sure on the rest of the details.
He isn't happy to learn that a new queen has been crowned without the Chamber knowing of it. They should always know such things. But he keeps the displeasure off his face as the stallion talks, making mental notes from virtually everything he says. Erebor wonders what has happened to make the Falls dry up, whether they faced the same kind of natural disaster that ha d wiped out his mother's beloved pine forests.
"I hope you'll extend our congratulations to Shatter Me." his smile is still in place, and his tones are businesslike, yet pleasant. "The Chamber is healing, just like your Falls." he half-glances at Straia as he speaks, not because he doubts his abilities but because he wants to be sure he isn't saying too much. He feels as though he should know more about the history of their relations, but in this area too he is sadly lacking. "We suffered from volcanic activity, but our heart is still beating." he says with a smile. He wonders if the stranger knows the truth of the Chamber's heart, his grandfather's heart, buried deep beneath the ground.
"I am sorry to hear that the drought hit you so hard. I hope you have enough of the water for your needs." he speaks diplomatically, politely. "As for anything else, Straia would need to speak to that." And then he turns to his mother, knowing that it's not his place to comment about alliances or other more weighty matters. At least, not yet. He suspects that his queenly mother may not have answers, because he knows how hard it's been to gather the Chamber-folk together, and he knows how fond his mother is of gathering opinions. There are still so few of them, but they're so hard to corral. Erebor Native Prince of the Chamber warship x straia
Sooooo I didn't see this. Sorry!
i want the world in my hands
Sometimes she thinks she should just leave the diplomacy up to Erebor and Kavi. They were much better at it than she was. Well no, that’s not really true. She is quite good at it when she can be bothered to care that much, or when the situation truly demands it. On her own borders though, she finds that she rarely feels all that diplomatic. Particularly when she’s still got a few streaks of ash here and there from the pine trees, though there was a lot less of that. She’s only got one streak today. Maybe she can manage to feel mildly diplomatic.
But she lets her son talk. It is probably endlessly weird for the Queen of a kingdom to let a boy that probably should be chasing (or killing, given his home and company) animal handle half the diplomacy. But she does, because she wants him to learn, and because she’s quite the skilled little thing. That’s what happen when you barely sleep and soak up every ounce of information possible though, she assumes.
She had been skilled as a child, but unlike her son, she had enjoyed acting like a child. It had been a game to her then, and sometimes, it was still a bit of a game.
Erebor defers to her at that point in the conversation, and while she hasn’t talk to her own kingdom, she knows that her own preference leans toward at least not pissing off the people with healing waters. The Chamber had nothing but ash, a heart, and a lot of scrappy determination. But none of that could close a wound. “No one seems to fault the Chamber for filling your nose with ash, so I can’t fault the Falls for a drought they had no control over either. I see no reason to get rid of the peace that our kingdoms have lived in over the years.”
She falls silent, waiting to see what Texas wants. He simply asked if the drought hurt their relationship. It does not. In fact, she’d really love if half the kingdoms no longer had access to the waters, so long as the Chamber still did. But really, she’s more curious if the new queen wants anything to do with an evil kingdom. The Falls has always been loving and peaceable, after all.
straia queen of the chamber
Texas has never cared particularly much for the Chamber or for diplomacy, but since he cares for very little, that leaves him in a fairly decent mood (as far as his moods go). The young colt appears to be a better diplomat than Texas is, thogh the bay stallion reassures himself that it’s only because he isn’t trying. If he made an attempt, of course, he’d be unbeatable.
Fortunately (perhaps fortunately for himself, or for the rest of the world) Texas is no longer prone to making many attempts.
His ears do prick up at the mention of volcanoes. The trees had looked a little damaged, he recalls, but he’s not attentive enough to have made any particular note of it. The boy extends his compliments to the queen, which Texas may or may not remember to carry back, and then his condolences for their lack of the water. “There’s just enough for our needs, yes.” He replies, admitting that the water is both properly functioning and in short supply.
The boy defers to Straia, and nothing in their conversation is enough to tip off the bay stallion that they are mother and son. He only turns to the paint mare to see what she has to say regarding their relations. “That’s good to hear,” re plies, though he can still tell that they are waiting for something more. Texas has asked his queen for her thoughts on treaties and she as not answered him. It’s an odd position to be in, but as he does in most things, he intends to take advantage of it.
“We can’t provide access to the waters for everyone anymore, at least not until the falls are back to the way they were.” Shatter Me has told him that much, at least. What they have not clarified is how they are to decide who ‘everyone’ is. “In the meantime, if you’ve need of them, come find me.” He might be offering the use of the Falls to only Straiai, or perhaps two the both of them. Maybe he’s even offering them to the Chamber as a whole. Whomever Straia decides he means, Texas has offered himself as the pathway to their use. Beqanna knows that it takes a loyal member of the Falls present to make the waters work their magic, and Texas is willing.
T E X A S
immortal silver bay hybrid stallion
king of the falls
We are at war. There will be scars.
The boy hadn't intended his comment about the Falls to get Texas to reveal more about their functioning. He finds it very interesting when the stallion spills unnecessary beans, and tries to weigh whether he thinks he's lying or not. It would certainly be in Texas' interest to make things seem more uncertain and in shorter supply than they actually were, but the man hardly seemed like a skilled negotiator. Not that the boy would have a frame of reference. That's why his mother is here, for backup.
When Texas speaks of needing to limit the water, Erebor nods. He can understand wanting to do that even if there were no actual need to do so. It would be a rather spectacular opportunity. And after all, why should such a powerful resource be readily available? It's a smart move, closing it off, and he mentally files it away for a day when he may be in the position to make those decisions.
He is even more interested by what the stallion says next. He immediately tries to parse the exact meaning. Does he refer to the Chamber as a whole? Only to himself and Straia? The fact that he's willing to offer them anything speaks about his intentions here. And Erebor finds it very interesting that Texas has proposed the arrangement himself , rather than making them ask for it. "Thank you." he says, his voice diplomatically serious.
He is tempted to ask whether there will be anything required of them, whether there are any stipulations or anything at all further that they should know. But that is not something that he feels he can address, not without his mother speaking to it first.
Someday he'll be an official diplomat, extensively versed in the Chamber's politics, policies, and political affiliations. But today he is just getting his sea legs, his first diplomatic skirmish in a life that (he hopes) will be filled with them. He is here to learn as much as to represent the Chamber, and he knows it. Erebor Native Prince of the Chamber warship x straia
This is literally a turd sandwich. Literally.
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