2014-08-14 - Need a Drink

Krishna is currently window shopping. Why? Because really, she doesn't have a bunch of money as she examines the jewelry displays in the window with interest. Though she is finally dressed quite nicely, with the clothes Sullivan has seen her wearing before. Colors would seem familiar, that they would.

Sullivan often window shops. It's one of those things that those that can afford, do on a fairly regular basis, along with those that cannot. It's the middling income that tend to buy and buy, dispose of what they have, for the sake of keeping up an appearance. Leastwise, this may be something observed of the middle-class of the upper city. Along the pavement to the side of commerce, the woman is looking currently at sets of pots and pans in a window for absolutely /no/ reason at all, for surely she does not cook for herself, but perhaps it's the reflection in a window that draws her attention further down the row of shops. "Aaah, it's you, again."

Krishna jerks a bit at the greeting, as if not used to being addressed or even acknowledged. Hazel eyes glance toward Sullivan, a wrinkle of her brow as she takes a moment or two to recognize. "You are married to Brand." Rrrrright, now if she can just remember your name! Course she centers on Brand, she said she was sorry to hear about the marriage! "Sully...no, that isn't right," Krishna's expression now thoughtful.

"No, it's right. As right as many get," Sullivan replies, her quiet voice warm in amusement. "Sullivan. Sulli. Princess consort Sullivan Fitz-Mandrake, blahblahblah. Crazy person that married the mad prince, yes." She inclines her head, chuckles lightly and seems to be taking into account the attire of the girl, the colours chosen. "So, far so good?" Her head tilts to the side, a bird-like gesture. "I remembered why you looked familiar; I've seen people dressed similarly in dance-halls and clubs where the lighting is neon and makes white glow bright. Plus, you resemble Corwin a little."

"Are you really a Mandrake by blood?" Krishna looks Sullivan over and then just shakes her head. Apparently she is used to the sun-ripened mercenary Mandrakes. Though she smirks a bit then, "Mad Prince indeed....." Though at the mention of dancing girls, that causes Krishna to scowl, but she calms down at being told she resembles Corwin, not seeming to mind that comment in the least! "It was a gift from him. I have never owned such fine clothes before. It was generous of him. I suppose being 'amusing' has its benefits. Who knew people would give me stuff for being my own snarky self?" An almost smile touches Krishna's lips.

"Originally, yes. I'm not really one any more -- Half Mandrake, half Feldane, by birth. But, I don't have a spare name lying around, so Fitz-Mandrake it is." Sullivan replies this with a lop-sided smile and a bow of her head, folding her arms neatly and loosely beneath her bosom, looking over the attire again. "Having been partisan to the amusement value bringing with it a certain amount of random gifting, I can honestly say yes, that sometimes helps. Corwin likes sass though, it's part of his irreverent schtick." She chuckles at -that- too, a shake of the head very faintly given, suggests a volume of things unsaid regarding that fact. "Out of curiosity, what brought you to Amber? You're amnesiac, but... how did you arrive?"

A chuckle comes from Krishna, "I have a feeling he likes you or would like you as well. I am sure there is quite a store behind no longer being half Mandrake, one I'm sure doesn't displease Corwin considering his...dislike for Mandrakes." An under-estimate.

A shrug from Krishna, "I have my memories now. There was a raid on a Lyonesse settlement by the Black Knights, I was part of it, a 'celebration' I was told before my Knighting. I ended up with my trainer stabbing me in the back and left me for dead. Somehow Amberites came to assist, and I got taken in as a victim and sent to the Mandrake Hospital."

Though Krishna then straightens up and bows toward Sulli. "Krishna....De'Mandrake apparently, though I am not publicly announcing it exactly. I am sure Corwin will find out sooner or later and kick my ass, and hopefully won't kill me." A lopsided smirk there.

"Well, Mandrakes have a habit of getting into things, or in the way of things, or just being somewhat... obnoxious at times? And not always in the good way," Sullivan it seems takes after the Feldane side of things a little more than the ebulient and vigorous Mandrake blood; then again, the look of her also screams something that possibly rose out of a coffin this morning and went about its business. The mandrake -sight- though, tells the story of the fact that is most definitely not the case! She contemplates a moment, thoughtful. "I could analyze your blood if you like, give you more of an origin story, if you wanted. I'm a hematologist, amongst other things; master physician, same as Celeste, but I'm marginally less inclined to get into heaps of trouble and turn into a ginormous scaly flying beast."

Only marginally less inclined? Yes, apparently so. "But yes, Corwin doesn't /dislike/ me. Mind, I couldn't rightly tell you if he liked me either, it's that jovial, snarky indifference. Not actively sneering and scowling? Good note on the whole possibilities of such."

A laugh at that, "You would be one white ass Dragon. But I am sure no less beautiful than you are as yourself." That is one way to give a compliment. But Krishna's appears thoughtful once more, "My origin?" She...has no idea really. "Like, my bloodline, who...my family would be?" The concept seems to...make Krishna shift her balance on her feet, not something a fighter typically does so awkwardly. "Corwin is...difficult to pinpoint on his feelings, he is manipulative."

Sullivan nods to the inquiry, a very soft thing. "I am discreet, by nature, regarding such things. Doctor's integrity." She says quietly, watching the hedging of footwork with observance, but without judgement. It's hard to truly tell where those black eyes are fixed, save for the marker of a tiny pinprick of red in their depths, but that's not always the easiest to track. "They're all manipulative. But yes, specifically so." She unfolds her arms, tucks hands into the small of her back, the posture therefore making her more 'open' as it were. She's armed, but it's sheathed and seems to have nothing to hide, at least. "Thank you though, for the compliment. I come by it naturally... I think, because of the combination of bloodlines. Feldanes tend toward a little more refined delicacy, often, although lady Izett is a little more vibrant than usual. Mandrakes by the physical build. Combine, you get a lithe... well... gracefulness, I suppose? Yes, that works well enough. Regardless... I suspect if I became draconic, there'd definitely be a monochromatic flavour." Grin.

A chuckle from Krishna at the monochromatic flavor comment. "Or something." Though she does add, "I respect Izett. The two house philosophies seem as if they would be at conflict, but...I still need to learn more, but they seem part of a whole to me." A vague shrug. "I suppose they should breed well enough. If you are into that thing." A pause. "This is awkward." Yes, the discussion of breeding.

"In either case," Krishna decides to change the topic, but pauses before doing so. "I...do not understand the concept of family, but I am...curious." Unsure if she should trust, but her desire to know is outweighing her wariness.

"It's always good to know where you came from, it makes it clearer where you're going to," Sullivan offers, with a shrug. "I came from those sources, they have some traits that are blood born, but where I'm going is my own decision." She smiles, it's a distant thing, somehow a little... forlorn. Why, isn't entirely clear, but perhaps it's the wariness. All things considered, she's probably rather used to that, from almost everyone. "Izett's a naturalist, she's opposed to where my own gifts took me. It's impossible to be a necromancer /and/ a naturalist, so there's some... prejudice involved. But, you are right. From life comes death, from death comes life, they're interlinked. You'll likely learn that, when you study the lores of the House in greater detail." That said, she turns toward a window, looking at the contents, this one seems to be full of men's clothing. Why she's looking at -that- with an envious edge to her features? Well. "All I need is a drop of your blood, Krishna. I can tell you volumes, by just that."

Calm comes here from the direction of the Main Concourse and Royal Way - Amber City.

It is that expression though that draws Krishna. "No bars will hold me," she says softly, seemingly to herself. She pulls her dagger, "Do you have a vial or something to catch it dear Sullivan?" A truce provided. "I am sick of running. I want to know my past, so I can finally move forward. For the longest time I thought myself nothing more than a dirty, worthless slave. Then I killed, and I became a squire. I killed more, and was to become a Knight. Then betrayed, now...I am free. And I know not how to choose. I am sick of going in circles, I am sick of standing still, of being indecisive. Perhaps...the past can shed some light on my future."

Sullivan turns her head sidelong, looking up at the taller woman's face with the fire in her eyes dancing a little higher than usual past her lashes. SOMETHING in what was said there, drew her attention like a magnet. "Everyone has choice; free will was granted a long, long time ago. Choice never abandons you, it remains eternally, never judges -- but the consequences to the things we choose to do, are our own to /own/. And methinks, Krishna, that you will forever own what you do. I despise slavery. The only one that owns a person's will, is themselves." She pulls one hand free, reaches to take a hold of one of the woman's wrists and lifts the hand gently up. "Just prick the tip of your thumb. That's all I require." She says this with a nearly reverent bow of her head. "The choice is yours."

Krishna blinks at Sullivan's words and then nods, "I am coming to despise it as well. I always thought free will an illusion, you only had two choices: Live or Die. I never knew there were choices in how one can live." But she then appears curious and moves to prick her own thumb with a slight hiss. The dagger is then held away. Only her own self-control prevented worse damage with such a sharp and deadly weapon.

Sullivan watches the action, then nods faintly, leaning closer to the digit. She gazes at it for a while, that little daub of red welling up like a jewel, then she sniffs it long and slow, frowning nearly /immediately/. "I know that scent..." is immediate. "How interesting..." Very still, she inhales again, this time like sniffing the bouquet of a fine wine. "The simplest choices everyone makes are just that though: Live or Die. Fight or Flight. It's much, much more involved than that though. What one does, can change the future. There's no such thing as a life lived meaninglessly..." She lifts her hand from Krishna's wrist then, brings her pinky finger to the tip of the droplet and dabs it, smooshing the liquid against her own skin. When she pulls away, the tiny eenie cut is all but gone -- the blood no longer flows, no longer wells. It might itch a wee bitty bit. Then? as if to confirm suspicions, she sniffs it again, right under her nose and .... dabs it on the tip of her tongue, rolling it over her taste buds. "You're royal." Immediately said. "Blood of Faiella. Prophecy. No wonder you look like Corwin, you have the blood of he and his siblings..." she looks up at Krishna's face then, her news delivered gravely. "I know this scent specifically though, the taste -- You're Micah's daughter or grand-daughter. It's strong enough, that I expect, you're his direct offspring." *BuhLINK*

"I wonder if I should have bathed extra well this morning," Krishna actually teases Sullivan a little bit, though she's actually blushing a bit! Yes, Krishna is actually blushing a bit! A miracle!

Krishna rubs her thumb pad to her finger pads curiously afterwards, feeling the tingle. As Sullivan continues to sniff at the blood, Krishna blinks. Though she does not have the omens power, the power having faded, the bloodline is still one and the same, and the royal blood itself still runs strong.

"Wait...what? Micah...the blacksmith. You tasted his...huh?" Wait, royal?! Krishna...yep...she looks like she could really, really, really use a drink right now!!!

"I've drawn his blood, for him, in payment. Sometimes, having a vial of your own blood, preserved, pure and unstained by the things that one has gone through, is an important thing. After all, if it somehow becomes corrupted, there'd be no way to know what it originally was, without such a providence." Sullivan replies, dusting her fingertip off on her thumb with a rub of pad to pad, much in the same way as Krishna had done. The blush? Earns itself a brief lash flutter of surprise and one brow quirked up a margarine, surprised by the effect of truth, then with the further inquiry, there's a nod. "Yes, you're of the royal blood. That I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt; the scent and taste of the blood of Oberon is unlike any other in any shadow. And yes, Micah, the blacksmith. Blood of Mandrake and blood of Oberon, of the line of Faielle." Or however it's spelled! "That makes you a descendant of either Eric, Corwin or Deirdre."

Sullivan points to the golden goose though, in the wake of having said that. "They serve some very good wines and strong liquors in there. Mandrake run, you know..." sotto voce. Apparently, she recognizes that sort of OMG expression, quite well!

"I...yes...a drink." From slave to royalty?! What are the chances?! And right, let's try that again, because the first step was off and so was Krishna's balance, but she gets the walking thing down the second time! She then turns about, moves to capture poor Sullivan's hand if she doesn't stop her, and go to pull Sullivan with her toward the Inn. Yep, not going to drink alone! "Damn unicorn tits," she says breathlessly, stealing a bit of Celeste's favorite curse! "Sulli? Let's...keep this quiet...for now." She doesn't know the meeaning of family, and she just got kicked with it in the face, oh my!

Sullivan chuckles, for the chances may have been one in a million, but anyone that's ever known the probabilities accounting for quantum knows that one in a million chances are practically a guarantee. Particularly if you live on a world where the gods have a sense of humour. She watches Krishna turn to the inn, her work 'done' and about to just watch yet another Oberon-spawn walk away from her, when she's grabbed and tugged along. "Whuh?" Meep! Laughter follows, sounding distinctly -less- quiet and more wry, as she's hauled along for the ride. "Quiet I can do. I did say, doctor's confidentiality. "For what it's worth, there's quite a lot of the next generation out there. Just remember not to go off into the lands of the arrogant and piss-proud, eh? And erm... find one you trust to tell you about the Pattern."

"I'm so screwed, but..the Pattern!" Krishna then has to quiet herself, "I want to learn. I wouldn't know trustworthy if it bit me in the ass however." But she then opens the door and lets go of Sullivan's hand to let her enter first, holding the door open for her before following in after her. "I am interested in the shadows and in Amber. Corwin got me interested in it all with his talk and little rants." She wets her lips. "You aren't pulling my leg and leading to my death? Though...what a way to go, death by Pattern," dark humor in her tone.

Lobby - Golden Goose Inn

Sullivan steps in first, a little surprised by the etiquette, but not complaining about it. "No, not pulling your leg. Why would I? Got no reason to. My jokes tend to be a little bit more esoteric or just boggling in nature. No one gets my jokes, it's a sad, sad state of existence. Well, I say that..." there /are/ some that get her jokes, they just tend to have as much of an esoteric or eclectic sense of humor as she does. "Ehehehehe, Okay, bad me. Bad. No." Caught by a mild case of the giggles, she schools her expression, with a soft: "I'm okay." Lip-twitch. Inhale! "Pattern's hard. As far as I can tell you, it -can- kill you. But no, I wouldn't recommend walking of the pattern to someone that it wasn't a birthright of. I'm not cruel, just unusual." She winks, gliding along as if she were well oiled, or on coasters.

"Now I want to know what your sense of humor is," and Krishna is following after Sullivan. She runs a hand through her hair, and sighs, her eyes darting about. She is trying to hide the fact that her hands are shaking slightly.

Sullivan reaches a hand out to the woman, palm up, her expression going back to a state of calm, somewhat serene quiet. "Deep breath, Krishna. I'll order whiskey... the gutrot kind. Sometimes, they keep it just for the strong-of-stomach," she nods to a server in passing as she keeps walking to the dining room. "Some of the single malt, strong. The stuff you keep on the bottom shelf." "Yes, your highness." "And some of your fine freshly pressed juices, pulpless, please..." "Yes, your highness." -- quieter still, so that it's just between two sets of ears; her own and Krishna's -- "You know those people that take themselves so seriously, that they're practically a tombstone? And those that think they're above everyone else, for no reason other than a quirk of birth? I tend to like to point out that if you prick'm, they bleed. And that they're not above pratfalls." She murmurs. "Plus, some people are just... too easy to illustrate how foolish they are."

Dining Room - Golden Goose Inn

Krishna actually listens to Sullivan and takes a deep breath before slowly letting it out, slowing her walking a bit as she does so. She then chuckles, "Yes, I understand," she says quietly. "I am far not witty enough by far to indulge and not cause mass chaos however, but it's interesting to try at times." She mmms and looks forward to the drinks as she heads into the dining room with Sullivan.

The whiskey's already there, as is a juice, by the time they get into the dining room. For some reason, there's no tumbler supplied with the whiskey, probably because of its nature -- the refined drink fifteen year old single malt, after all, or older. This stuff? Is for chugging and clearly there's enough folks as do that to warrant keeping a bottle or two. Sitting herself down on the intimate little nook, Sullivan takes the juice provided with both hands, shifting her attention over Krishna's person with an empathetic regard. "I probably couldn't get away with it most of the time, except for the fact I married one of the Cabal. If not for that, I'd have been smacked down a few times, I'm pretty sure. That is if they'd cottoned to what I was saying at the time." She chuckles quietly at that, her husky voice still not carrying very far. "Insulting the elders never goes well. Although, as I'd noticed the other day at Mandrake, you've already got the hang of making Celeste tell you to mind your manners. Didn't take long, it seems..." lop-sided smile "...I completely befuddle her, I'm afraid. She's devoted to Benedict. Sometimes. Other times, she'll turn errascible on him. She's go a knack for pissing off my husband though, which can be quite extraordinary to watch. She backtracks like she was on elastic."

Krishna flops down into a seat as if exhausted and notices no glass, shrugs, and goes to open the bottle. She takes a swig of it, then says, "I'm still pissed at him for creating the Mandrake Plague. Least I got to throw up rainbow colors on Lucian's boots," she states. "Aimed right for them too," nodding proudly. "Good aim even when deathly ill." She salutes with the bottle.

"In either case, I have not met Benedict, but I'm sure I will be as Celeste's new bodyguard. And she does remind me of my manners, but indulges me greatly. Likely more than she should. No one is perfect, but...I'd claim her." Obvious fondness of Celeste.

Sullivan chuckles, oh-so-faintly. "He did it to unlock the potential in Mandrake blood, you know. As far as I can tell, it was something similar to what he'd done with me, years and years before, but..." she shrugs "...he couldn't remember it and he's absolutely rubbish at notes. It worked though. It transforms your blood, attunes it to new magics. Allows you to learn the intricacies of Life. Of course, it's still an absolute bitch and you feel like death warmed up. Trust me, what he did with that, is way kinder than what he did with me. I felt like all the veins in my body were burning and my guts were twisting in knots." She purses her lips up into a little rosebud there, eyes flashing wide in emphasis, cheekbones high as kites. "Congratulations though, on hitting Lucian's boots. I'd have given you a gold star if you'd hit his crotch." Innocent. INNOCENT. "Technicolor vomit and all"

"If you say so. I can see sometimes glowing auras afterwards, but that's about it, never asked what it meant." Ah...Krishna hasn't been trained in the house secrets yet! "I just kind have been taking things in stride." She mmms softly. "And yet you married him, what does that say about you Sulli dear?" A quirk of an eyebrow at the woman as Krishna takes another drink of her newly acquired liquor.

Though Krishna then laughs, "I doubt Izett would have appreciated it, and I actually respect her. She may be a gardener, but she is absolutely brutal. I greatly approve."

Sullivan mmmms, softly, making no comment about Izett's approval or nay. Brutality, neither! "Well, yes. He asked me. And to note, I asked him to experiment. This was over two hundred years ago, Krishna, when he was decidedly less bananas than he is now..." She chews on her cheek a moment, picks up the glass and sips from it "...plotting his death would probably not end well. He's got a habit of spontaneous conflagration and an itchy newt trigger finger. Makes waking him up from a nap, rather hazardous."

Krishna then asks, "Do you not like yourself Sulli? Because, I'm still confused on why you married him." She raises a hand to scratch the buzzed section of the back of her head in confusion. "I'm assuming you have your reasons...." Love doesn't even come up.

Sullivan chuckles at that, but it peeters off. "I've been asked that too many times, to count, in one form or another. No one really seems to understand it," she settles back into her seat, prim, proper, bred for looking refined, or just wearing it like a cloak, really well. "I... bring out the best in him, Krishna. I always have done. I used to be his assistant, which meant quite a lot of people talked to me, instead of him, getting their answers or having them forwarded in a way that wouldn't make him annoyed." She considers, looking at the woman with her eyes faintly narrowed. "I can teach you about the halo, by the by, what it is you're seeing." Pause, beat. "Although I expect, so could Celeste and she'd probably be annoyed if I poked around with her people. Still..." that was a tangent and she winces a little, annoyed at herself for it, for some reason. "I protect Amber from Brand's madness. But no, I don't much like myself. I hate feeling like a failure. It's quite the driving force."

A shrug at that, "I doubt it means much, but I like you." A pause, "Then again, I like Corwin and Celeste, so...I may have questionable tastes." A wicked little smile appears on Krishna's lips. There is a strange shine to her hazel eyes, eyes that look so much like Micah's eyes though without the warmth. "You are a driving force in others at the very least Sulli, I would not call that failure." Whatever Sullivan did today, Krishna apparently has decided to make some decisions.

There's an irony there. If only the punkish mandrake knew. "I like Corwin and Celeste also, well enough... then again, I'm close friends with the queen, have odd conversations with the king, married the mad genius and regularly natter with Caine. Questioning of sanity is quite logical, when you consider that. Also, well... taste is entirely personal. Both the people you mentioned there, have magnetic personas. They draw people in, end up with an orbiting cloud of people-shaped asteroids and sometimes throw them off their gravitational pull, like comets. Be careful, Krishna. Know what you get yourself into."

Krishna still doesn't know enough. "There is still so much to learn, and I haven't even educated myself to the tip of the iceberg." She sighs at that. "I thirst for knowledge without understanding the consequences of it. I'm sure to get myself into something over my head." She then raises her drink. "To courage, stupidity, and insanity. May we all find something to make us know joy."

"There's a lifetime ahead of you, to complete your learning quotient, also. Never forget the thirst! But... if you've got a question and I can answer it, I will. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing!" Sullivan lifts her glass up, to the toast. "To the choices that will make you who you are and who you will -become-." With that, she gets an odd far-and-away look to her that's almost a trump call, save that she touches a hand to the pendant at her throat; the twinned serpents tangled in vines that face one another across the stone field. Are those green gem eyes glowing slightly? Surely not. "If you'll excuse me though, someone is calling me. Be well, Krishna." This said, she drops a coin or two on the table, to pay for the drinks and with a funny little bob-curtsy toe-tapped behind her ankle of her opposite leg, she heads out!