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Post by jaydjasmyn on Mar 23, 2009 8:15:43 GMT -5
Jayd let out a gasp when Luxe was struck, rather hard, across the jaw. What on earth was going on here? She wanted so badly to go to him but she remained in her spot, almost as if her footpaws were cemented to the floor. This was a situation that she didn't want to get involved in. She would allow Ladorak to handle this.
The femme leaned down when Caden approached her. Was the kit warming up to her? Would he see the shock in her eyes over what just happened? Surely their actions had to rub off on the kit. Jayd wrapped her paws around Caden and then picked him up, careful to keep his injured arm to the outside.
Indeed she was a bit angry about the fact that Luxe had just gotten socked in the jaw. It made absolutely no sense, especially if he wasn't getting paid back for the fact that he broke Caden's arm. Jayd then took a step toward the door, wanting to leave this whole situation.
The female nodded to the appropriate beasts that spoke in her direction or directly to her but she said nothing, except to Lad when her if she was set to go. Of course she was! The male could see it in her eyes and she only wanted to be home now. She wanted to put Caden into bed and then perhaps relax. "I'm ready Lad. I'm tired. Let's go."
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Post by Ladorak on Mar 23, 2009 11:24:42 GMT -5
"Yeah...you're right....let's go." Ladorak said softly, disappointed at how the evening had turned out. Well....you couldn't have it perfect all the time. Such was life. He was out of a job, he had annoyed practically everyone possible that he could annoy, and was looked down upon by many of his superiors. Couple that with this rather troubled night and it made Ladorak just a little blue. But at least he had gotten his engagement set up, and there was no one he'd rather marry than Jayd Jasmyn.
He began help the still only semi-coherent Luxe out the door as Jayd followed. He informed the porter at the door about their carriage number, and the porter went off immediately to fetch their coachmammal so that he could bring the vehicle around to the front. He stood patiently out in the garden as he waited. Thoughts of his current situation whirled through his head. To many, he was seen as young, far younger than most ship captains in the Galdean Navy, and that he'd been promoted ahead of his station. It didn't help that many higher ups were annoyed with him as well, some for his badgering them for commands, and others still because of the mishaps he'd gotten himself into.
It was then that Ladorak spied an elderly shrew, tired but distinguished looking, off to their left. He too seemed to be waiting for a carriage, and Ladorak knew at once that this was Admiral Richard Howe, perhaps one of the highest ranking naval officers in the Galdean Navy. His snout was long and drooping, and it was clear that he was not the youthful officer he had once been years ago. He was one of the most respected leaders in naval tactics of his time however, and had previously served as First Lord of the Admiralty, the highest position one could get in the Navy. Ladorak had flooded his office with requests for a command, and Ladorak had always suspected that it had annoyed the old sea shrew somewhat.
The clattering of Ladorak's approaching carriage could be heard though, and he held the door open for Jayd and Caden to alight, and then had the coachmammal assist him with getting Luxe into the carriage, sitting opposite Jayd. "I'll be right back dear." Ladorak said, blowing her a quick kiss as he hurried over to Admiral Howe. "Admiral Howe!" the ermine called out to him, and came into a salute, mostly out of respect, although neither of them were on duty.
"Oh...Commander Fugate." Howe replied in a slow manner. "I assume you wish to ask me about a ship command." the rodent-like Admiral said with a sigh.
"Well...one wouldn't hurt yes, but no....in actuality I was going to ask how you were doing."
"Ah...I'm alright....could be a bit better. I can never stay very long at these party things. I'm too old to dance and get a bit fatigued being in crowded rooms. The sea's more for me as I'm sure you're aware." Ladorak knew that Howe was 66 now, but that was fairly typical for the higher ups. Samuel Hood was 68 himself. Jervis, if Ladorak remembered correctly, was 57.
"That's...understandable sir. I didn't have a great time myself." the stoat said glumly.
"Ah well...you DID propose to a jill at least." the shrew piped in.
"Of course I did......and she's really everything to me. Sir.....I....just.....I'm not going to flood your office with requests anymore but.....it....WOULD be awful nice to get a command. Even if it's just a cockle boat I would be grateful!" he said emphatically, referring to the small rowboats towed behind the large ships of the line. "I...I'm going to be starting a family soon you know....I've already adopted one kit, and well I'm expecting to have a few with my fiancee of course....and as you know expenses are a little tight...." Howe sighed again. Same old Ladorak.....it's just now he was using a family as an excuse....though in this instance Howe could see it was a legitimate need.
"Look Fugate.....it's tight everywhere, you know that. Hell I'm not even on active call right now! I'm one of the most senior officers in this Navy, and instead I'm rotting away ashore. We're at peace now Fugate....it's a different world we live in. We may have rendered valuable service in the past but...that past is the past, as you know, and not the present. I'm sure if a war did come along we'd get called to serve but right now.....there's nothing I can do for you I'm afraid." was the shrew's answer. He was really exasperated with how many times the stoat bothered him over this. It just wasn't right! They were all in the same boat.....and while Ladorak may have been persistent, he should have realized that there were just no openings available right now.
"Yes of course sir....I'm sorry to have bothered you. Have a good night." the ermine said softly.
"And have a good wedding Fugate." Howe told the departing mustelid.
Climbing up into the carriage, Ladorak sat next to Luxe and the carriage jolted into motion. "Sorry for the delay my love....I had to ask." He said, looking across at her. "How are you holding up? Not too disappointed with the evening I hope. I just...maybe it's for the best we leave anyways. I don't get along too well with much of the nobility to be honest with you." he said quietly, before clearing his throat and looking at her with a serious gaze. "I.....have to apologize though regardless for how the evening went. I'm sure you would have liked to have stayed longer...." he trailed off, noticing the coin that Caden was twirling around, but not thinking much of it at the present.
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Post by jaydjasmyn on Mar 23, 2009 15:48:03 GMT -5
Jayd watched for a moment as Ladorak went to talk to another beast. She smiled and then soon got into the carriage, where Luxe and Caden were already seated. Jayd sat opposite of them. Her eyes curiously watched as Caden was forced to sit next to the male that broke his arm. Surely this would be a hard thing for the kit to do.
Lad soon entered the carriage and spoke to her. Indeed she knew that he had to ask. He must be going stir crazy not having a duty to attend too. Also he must be worried about money and now because he had some additional worry of Caden, Jayd and now a new kit on the way.
To stay longer would have been glorious since she's never been to such a Fancy local function and she had to admit inwardly that she was a bit disappointed but she would never say that you Ladorak. Even though she's now wiped out some how she would have made due, she would have stuck it out.
The femme smiled when Lad asked her how she was holding up. About that time the carriage began to move and so Jayd took the opportunity to put her head on her love's shoulder. "I'm fine and it's okay that we couldn't stay. Truthfully I am wiped out." Jayd was a sacrificing kind of female. She knew the circumstances and was willing to adjust accordingly.
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Post by Ladorak on Mar 23, 2009 22:59:41 GMT -5
((OOC: Actually Ladorak is sitting next to Luxe in the last paragraph of my last post, but it's alright, no worries. Not a big deal))
"Yeah...." Ladorak said, feeling tired as well. Well...after everything that had gone on at the gala....it wasn't surprising. He gave her a slow nod, and shifted his forepaws, wringing them together as if he were nervous about something. He did have something he wanted to get off his chest, but he wasn't sure if now was the time. He didn't want to speak in front of Caden about this but....did it really matter?
The albino seemed to be pretty beat himself, and was staring out the window now, a sleepy expression on his face. He'd listen for a bit....but chances were he'd be out in a bit. Ladorak figured he may as well speak up to his fiancee now.
"Jayd....there is something I'd like to talk to you about." the ermine said, looking at her with an earnest expression. "Back in the place I lived before coming here.....well....I worked hard, raised myself up from the sweat of my brow and the callouses on my paws. I strove to build a foundation of security, trust, and prestige. I mean....eventually I could come home to a sumptuous castle that I had built and say that I was proud to be alive. I had risen to a position of authority and had been tasked with an entire ship, and also with leading military squads. I had status, wealth, and respect from those around me. But sometimes.....we can lose those things, and after going so high one unexpectedly and suddenly topple down. I lost all of that in an heartbeat....and was forced to leave that place in shame and disgrace." he said, his whiskers rustling back and forth a bit as he contemplated things.
"Some of it was my own doing, some of it wasn't....but I could have pawdled things better. I came here, seeking a new life at sea. I rose quickly through the ranks...perhaps too quickly. In no time at all I had risen to the post of Commander, and many thought it was a bit too fast for someone my age. I vigorously attacked my duties, eager for glory, and a chance to serve my country. I guess I wanted so badly to succeed....to make up for my past mistakes and sins. I told you I feel l like I carry many burdens and well....I've tried to shake those by going at my duties with new energy. I plunged into the tropical jungles to take a Ferlusan fort, and though we succeeded, I ended up giving myself malaria too, a lifelong disease. I seized ships for inspection and took their cargoes if they were trading illegally, part of Galdea law that was never popular with my superior since he enjoyed profits from those illegal cargoes. I exposed some graft in the islands only to earn the wrath of the grafters themselves, and their powerful friends in Parliament. I befriended Prince Ragnar and helped him rise through the ranks only to earn the ire of his father, the King, whom he constantly quarrels with."
There was a glimmering quality about Ladorak's eyes now. Were they....misting up? "I came home without a command only to find myself being sued by those angry merchant captains whose cargoes I had previously seized, all lawfully I might add. I lost my legal court battles and ended up having a good chunk of my change sliced away as a result. I tried to get a ship command and end up annoying my superiors by flooding their offices with requests. Sometimes I think that even my mentor Admiral Hood finds me annoying. I take Caden in to protect him but I'm not sure if I'm even doing a good enough job of looking out for him." Ladorak glanced over at the albino marten, who appeared to be asleep now, but in reality was just resting with his eyes closed. He was listening to most of this, unsure what to make of it.
"I still persevere however. I try the absolute best I can. I'm not the same stoat I was from a few years ago however. I don't have that prestige, I don't have that respect, and no, I can't come home everyday feeling as if I've accomplished something. I just.....want to make you proud most of all, and I feel as if I...." He hung his head now, looking down at the floor of the carriage as if he were ashamed to even look at her. "I'm not someone you could say you're proud of. I'm afraid...." his voice was deathly low now, a whisper almost. "That I'm not someone that Caden could look up to for strength and support. Do you...." he raises his eyes but not his head. "Do you think I'm worthy of someone.....as gorgeous and as kind as you? Do you think I'm someone that Caden might eventually.....come to respect? I'm not nothing.....am I?" he asked her quietly, as if terrified of the answer. It was why he had worked so hard before, only to lose it all and have to work at scraping and clawing himself back up to the surface. He wanted to make his future wife happy and proud to be married to him....and he wanted to make Caden feel better about his new life as well. It was difficult for him.....but he had to ask Jayd.
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Post by jaydjasmyn on Mar 24, 2009 11:11:13 GMT -5
Patiently the female stoat listened to Lad and his concerns. They were legitimate concerns especially from one in his position and in truth the male gender usually held such concerns more so then the female gender. Jayd would never see anything that he felt as odd or wrong. His feelings were precious to the femme and she definitely felt the need to comfort him when it came to him sharing them with her.
The fae looked up at him. Her eyes never failed to watch him intently as he spoke his true emotions. Now Jayd simply longed to let him know that she felt nothing but admiration for the male. She took his cheek in the palm of her paw and then turned his gaze to her own. "I am proud of you and I always will be. I am proud of your past and proud of your presence and proud of who you will yet become. You strive to be your best. You are aware of what your family needs and is going to need. I couldn't ask for a more noble creature to marry but even if we are dirt poor for the rest of our lives it doesn't matter. I wouldn't trade you for anything now." Jayd stretched her lithesome body out and kissed him on the lips but she wasn't done.
Eagerly she turned further toward him, she even went so far so to turn in her seating and drape her legs over his lap as she spoke to him. "Caden might not know it now but one day he will look upon you with fondness and pride. 'You' are the best thing that's ever happened to him and me. Don't sell yourself short. Even begging for a job or requesting it day after day isn't anything to be ashamed of. It takes more pride and heart and love to do that... knowing that your circumstances are changing drastically." Jayd smiled at him and then took his paw and placed it on her tummy. "Your family loves you and supports you." Repeatedly she kissed him on the cheek, wanting to give him as much love as possible.
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Post by bookity101 on Mar 24, 2009 13:03:08 GMT -5
Luxe's head had cleared by this time, though his jaw still ached from where Gaylor had smacked him. He began to take stock of his surroundings, keeping his head resting against the wall of the carriage. He quickly shut his ears, or tried to at least. When he figured out what was going on in the enclosed space.
Swiveling slightly, so he wouldn't disturb the beasts on the other side of the carriage he turned and saw that Caden was sitting next to him on the bench. The white kit was holding something tight in his paw, seemingly asleep.
When the carriage went over a series of small ruts in the road, Luxe's head bounced off of the wall and his chin hit his shoulder. He couldn't quite stifle the small moan that escaped him when the injured part of his jaw hit the bone in his shoulder. He quickly sat up as if he just woke up, banged his head on the ceiling, and managed to look completely idiotic, in just a way that he might've been innocent of eavesdropping...
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Post by Ladorak on Mar 24, 2009 14:12:29 GMT -5
To hear the supporting words of the jill gave him strength. True, he was really down on his luck and highly unsure of his own ability to support his family, but if Jayd truly believed in him....then at least he could keep going. He would have to promise himself that there was no way he would be caught in the dregs of society for the rest of his life. He would have to do whatever it took in order to raise himself up.
The thing about Ladorak was perhaps a typical male desire, but it was always a strong inclination of his to impress the ones he loved. He wanted to be a pillar of strength, of support, of security, and of course of love. Not being able to do that just made him feel......impotent in a way, small, and drove him insane with a passion to work ever more diligently to try and undo his past wrongs and lead his new family into a bright and what will hopefully be a secure future. It was what he craved more than anything.....that and the chance to be at sea again.
"Then.....I promise....I promise I will do everything in my power in order to support us in the years to come. If I get a job then I will throw more energy into it then ever before, and I promise you too.....that there will be a future for us yet. Thank you....for your kind words. And thank you for saying that about Caden." Ladorak spoke softly, looking across at the kit and getting down on one knee on the floor of the carriage so as to lean over the dozing albino. He still felt.....as if he were a sorry jack who couldn't even support himself, but he knew he would have to strive to lift himself up again.....regain what he had lost in a way. There was a fire burning within his chest to do everything he could for Jayd, for Caden, and for his country.
"He looks so peaceful....." Ladorak whispered, as if in awe. He tentatively reached out a paw, but instead of resting it on Caden he placed it upon the windowsill and used it for support as he quietly leaned in and delivered a soft kiss upon the kit's brow. Caden, still awake, stirred a bit, taken by surprise as he hadn't expected Ladorak to do that. It made him want to squirm, but he had to keep up the illusion of being asleep, so he kept still. He wasn't sure how he felt about this, but before he could think too much on it, the blacksmith jolted "awake" and struck his head on the ceiling of the carriage after a bump in the road.
Pulling back and away from Caden, Ladorak returned to his seat and looked across at Luxe. "So....back among the living are you?" he asked, regretting the fact that he'd had to pull away so quickly from the marten child, but knowing it would have had to have occurred at some point. Best see if his fellow stoat was alright. They had a long journey back after all and were still in the city limits, so if he wasn't up for the ride just now they'd be able to let him off at a clinic or some such place if he really needed it.
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Post by jaydjasmyn on Mar 25, 2009 12:02:07 GMT -5
Just before Lad left her to go over to gaze upon Caden she chuckled and then commented as she waved her fingers through his headfur. "Well I have a job to go home to and perhaps I can be trained to specialize in something. Maybe I can open a nice little cafe or something. I don't know but what I do know is.... You won't be the only one trying to support this family. I can help as well." Jayd then watched him as he approached Caden and then kissed him on the forehead. This just melted the femme's heart.
Soon after....
Luxe began to wake up. Jayd's heart went out to him. He seemed like a kind enough beast, not that she even knew him but still she would give him the benefit of the doubt, especially due to how bad he felt because he broke Caden's arm. And then to be belted in the jaw like that. Luxe didn't seem to be the type of being that deserved that.
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Post by bookity101 on Mar 26, 2009 22:48:38 GMT -5
Luxe blinked his eye's sheepishly. He glanced guiltily at the two stoats facing him, then he rubbed his head, an ache had started from where he had whacked it on the carriage. "Among the living and the aching, Sir." Luxe's trademark grin, if a little stifled, was back on his face. Then he became confused, "Were am I, besides the obvious answer, I guess the question is whose carriage am I in?" He blinked owlishly as he looked around, and noticed that he was jostling Caden. He moved closer to the side so he could avoid jostling the pine martin kit anymore. He reached a paw up to touch his slightly swollen jaw. The swelling was making it harder to speak ,so he spoke shortly, but did not mean to be rude. "Just to make sure, it was Master Gaylor who clocked me?" He asked wincing a bit as he jarred his head again. ((Sorry for the shortness, on vacation, and short computer time.. )
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Post by Ladorak on Mar 27, 2009 10:45:57 GMT -5
((OOC: No problem, just do what you gotta do. Looking forward to that Boneparte thread with you come mid week ) "Well, you're in my carriage, though I don't personally own this one. It was one sent by the capital to pick me up. I do have a carriage house at my place, but I've since converted it into living quarters due to not actually owning a carriage." Ladorak explained, giving his fellow mustelid a smile. "And yes." the ermine confirmed. "It was your Master Gaylor who clocked you in the jaw. I....was rather....surprised myself. He said something about wanting to continue a lesson that you should have been taught a long while ago....or something like that. Oh yes!" the stoat's eyes flashed for a minute as he remembered the rest of the message. "He wanted me to tell you that he'll be traveling to Thorpe within the next month or so in order to take care of some business I believe is what he said. So perhaps he'll be able to catch our wedding." Ladorak beamed happily, looking over at Jayd now, and placing a paw on where he thought her knee was under her dress, rocking it a bit in a show of affection. "Speaking of which...I think we should start to discuss that. Prince Ragnar is offering to pay for it...and though I'm not sure I'll take him up on his offer to pay for the whole thing, maybe we could expand our plans a bit....." but Ladorak stopped talking as he saw Caden stirring. The kit was pretending to wake up, and gave a yawn and turned some sleepy looking eyes in Ladorak and Jayd's direction. He was still gripping that coin that Gaylor had given him in one of his paws. Ladorak shot him a soft smile. "Hey there...." "Hey...." Caden replied, feigning exhaustion, though he was in fact pretty tired. He looked up at Luxe, giving the blacksmith a wary look before scooting over a bit in his seat to get closer to the window. Ladorak watched him as he continued to speak to Jayd in a soft tone. "So yes...if there are any plans you'd like to implement for this wedding......may as well put them forward now and we'll see what we can work with." He stated, his tone a rather happy and contented one now that he knew that Jayd was willing to accept him despite his financial status. He'd fix that.....as he didn't want her working too hard to support them. She shouldn't have to after all once he got a ship of his own. And Caden well.....Ladorak felt confident that someday the marten kit too might come to accept the fact that he had to live here as well.
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