the_lioness | (no subject)

Tavi has never seen a tropical beach other than the one here at Milliways. He hasn't even seen a proper beach and ocean of any kind in a couple months, not since they landed in Antillus.

But when he was still on the ship, sometimes he'd just go and look out over the ocean, trying to map the future in his head. He can't anymore, and finding privacy is singularly difficult for a First Lord, apparently. As a result, the inlet has become a more frequent stop of his than it used to be. The beauty, the emptiness, the endless expanse: it's almost like an artist's blank canvas, waiting to be created upon.

Funny, how in many ways his reason for being here--solitude or not--is quite the opposite of hers.

But there isn't solitude today. If it had to be that way, though, at least Alanna is one of the rare people Tavi can put up with for a while when he's trying to work out something he doesn't want most to watch him through.

Still, she might not wish to be disturbed either. So he'll make his way to a spot on the sand, within speaking distance, and easily seen if she opens her eyes. If she wants to talk, her company is not unwelcome.

And if she does want to be left alone, well, he has more than enough to process.

The constant crashing of waves is broken only by the sound of footsteps in the deep, soft sand. Wiggling her toes, Alanna opens her eyes and glances toward the faint noise. She presses her lips together when she sees Tavi, a pensive look on his face, and reaches much the same conclusion as he did when he saw her.

Perhaps they could both use some time with their thoughts. Alanna appreciates that they are able to be alone, together. It's a hard thing to achieve, even with friends.

About a quarter hour later, she jumps off the rock, sighs, and takes a seat near but not beside him.

"Some days I think swimming might not be all terrible."

"Just don't try it in full armor," Tavi replies dryly.

And yes, that tone of voice is most definitely the voice of experience.

After a moment's consideration, though, he does smile slightly out over the peaceful vista. "Although, granted, it could be worse. It's not winter here, and the southern climate would doubtless make the experience more pleasant." Which says a great deal about whatever experience he's had swimming in full armor.

Actually, she'd be more likely to try it in full armor, as nonsensical as that seems. It would better hide certain attributes.

She lets out a heavy sigh at the thought.

"Doubtless."

Her gaze shifts to Tavi.

"Why in Mithros's name did you go swimming in full armor?"

Tavi can guess the reason for that sigh and internally just rolls his eyes slightly. Having gone through nearly drowning, he suspects her opinion on the subject would change with the experience.

He shrugs.

"Vord dragged me into the bay when we were leaving Canea. It's not an experience I have any intention of repeating." He pauses a moment, then winces slightly. "Even if there weren't a number of people who would be less than thrilled with my fighting that particular kind of rearguard action personally."

Amazing how much changes between being Princeps and First Lord.

Dry, "I can't imagine why they might object."

Her lips twitch. Given the opportunity, she is almost positive Jon would do the same.

Jon. Again. Why can't I stop thinking about him?!?

Another sigh escapes her, this one more than a little lost sounding. Love does that to a person. Especially a person who has sworn it off over and over.

Blast it all.

"Don't worry, I don't think I'll be testing it any time soon." Armor or no armor, actually. "I'm not that touched in the head."

Tavi smiles very slightly. "Well, it's not a situation likely to come up any time soon."

Which may or may not be his way of mentioning, in passing, that he's not fighting the same kind of war anymore.

The sigh makes him wince internally, because while his watercrafting helpfully identifies exactly what her problem is... well. As her friend, he'd like to help. He is not exactly the person he'd tell anyone to go to for romantic advice, though. Ever. His personal record is fairly abysmal.

"There's probably nothing too crazy in swimming out here, so long as you're not in armor--unless there's something in the water here no one's told me about." The thought makes him scowl slightly.

"Oh," she says absently, "I heard something about a squid. Also a pirate ship that rises from the waves, but surely that was a tall tale."

Alanna stares off into the distance for a long moment until:

"It won't? What's happened?"

"The squid is in the lake," he replies just as absently. Because squid in lake and not ocean makes total sense, right?

Milliways.

Oh. Right. That. "I killed the Vord Queen three weeks ago."

"Oh."

Alanna turns her head and raises an eyebrow at him. "Congratulations."

Her first thought upon hearing his news: And you didn't want to lead with 'Alan! I killed my nemesis! Come, let us give thanks to the gods and furies by eating all this celebratory cake!' Or something of that nature.

Her second: This is Tavi.

The latter is self explanatory, she feels.

"I'm very glad she didn't kill you instead," she adds, smile widening by the second.

Entirely self-explanatory.

(At least he isn't her commanding officer and she doesn't have to put up with it professionally.)

At first Tavi only inclines his head slightly in acknowledgment of the congratulations--but then she manages to startle an actual laugh out of him. "Oddly enough, so am I. Then again, I haven't actually had to deal with the Senate in full session yet. I may change my mind."

She'd kill him.

Figuratively speaking, of course.

His laugh calls forth her own. There's no shortage of relief in it. He's her friend and he won, Goddess bless.

"Politics and diplomacy," she says thoughtfully, nodding, "yes, I think I can see the appeal."

Another grin.

"I assume everyone knows who you are now?"

"Diplomacy's not so bad. The Canim and Marat are eminently reasonable, once you know how to talk to them, and I hear the Icemen are as well," Tavi notes. His tone is somewhere between thoughtful and mocking. On the one hand, it's quite true! On the other... "International matters produce far fewer headaches than internal politics."

Which is also true.

These are his people. And yet, he doesn't even throw them in his pet volcanoes.

He nods, leaning back slightly.

"They have for a year now. When my last commanding officer was being criminally stupid, I had to take fairly drastic action. Captain Rufus Scipio couldn't have stopped him."

But Princeps Gaius Octavian was a very different matter.

Alanna wrinkles her nose at the idea that diplomacy might not be so bad.

"I suppose."

Her tone remains dubious.

"Has anyone else tried to move against you? Internally, I mean. Especially with the Vord queen gone."

Tavi happens to have lucked out in having sane neighbors, one of whom he's cheerfully absorbing into his empire.

Alanna just has more humans.

For a long moment he looks at her thoughtfully. There's a lot he could say here, and a lot he hasn't told anyone (because of course he hasn't).

"The short answer is no," he says finally. Meaning if she wants the long answer, he will give it. But he doesn't want to potentially waste her time.

Then, "I've never said much about the Vord other than naming them as the threat, have I? And the spiders."

Tavi never wastes her time. He'd know if she ever felt that way, because patience is definitely not one of her virtues.

But he is probably perfectly aware of that fact.

"You haven't."

Her brow furrows automatically at the mention of spiders.

Tavi keeps his smile at bay--poor Alanna, her future will not be fun when everything gets covered in spidrens--and, after a moment, sighs.

"Vord exist solely to create more of themselves, and destroy any life that is not Vord," he explains simply. "That's why there's not even a chance of negotiating with them."

Don't ask if he tried.

"The spiders make croach, a waxy substance the Vord feeds off of. Anything living--trees, grass, animals, wood in buildings," he doesn't have the words to say 'organic matter,' but that's what he means, "can be consumed to create that. The more spiders, the more croach--which produces more spiders, and spreads it more quickly. Even now that the queen is dead."

Letting his fingers slide into the sand, he concentrates for a moment. The sand ripples, and soon enough there is what is obviously a map--complete with at least some degree of topography. After smiling down at it briefly, he looks up at Alanna to invite her in for a closer look.

"Parasites," she mumbles before settling back as he explains the rest, listening with a frown, only to lean forward eagerly when the sand map appears.

Goddess.

"When does it stop?" She gets up on her knees to take a closer look from another angle. "How much influence did she have over them?"

A quick head shake.

"I mean, now that she's dead will they keep going mindlessly or will a new queen arise?"

And at what point will he just burn them all with fire?

(Okay, not really. But spiders.)

Actually, burning them with fire is one of his plans!

"They're continuing jobs without her. They can't strategize, or operate cohesively," meaning they're more pests than anything else, except where there are simply too many, "but the croach still spreads."

Tavi points to the northeastern isthmus. "That's Calderon." His finger moves to a southwestern river delta. "And that's Kalare, where she made landfall when she invaded a year ago."

And then, with a glance at the water and a quick flick of his fingers, he pulls over just enough moisture to darken some of the sand on the map. It starts at the river delta and spreads out quickly--

And covers most of the map. Not quite all--some of the southeast and most of the north is still dry. But most.

"This was the state the day of the battle."

Alanna studies the map, then Tavi; it's easier than thinking about the actual scale of what he's showing her here.

"And now?"

A moment of concentration, and some of the moisture vanishes. Not much, but a considerable amount in the northeast--there is now a clear passage there--and headway south of Calderon.

The continent's still mostly covered.

"It's only been three weeks." He rubs his forehead tiredly. "I expect clearing everything for good may take years."

For a moment he just stares down at the map, clearly seeing something else far away. Finally he looks up at her again and smiles wanly.

After all, there was a different point to all this.

"Even if there were anyone left particularly inclined to take serious action against me, we're all a little busy for it--even by Aleran standards."

Alanna blows out a breath and sits back on her heels.

"How are you fighting it? Them? On such a scale?"

She still can't quite shake the idea of another queen taking the original's place, but realizes that's her own experience with (or studies of, anyway) power vacuums talking.

"I'm glad. Not for all you face, but for the distraction of it?" A sheepish look. "Duke Roger has me overly concerned about such things perhaps."

He gives her a sidelong look. He's never gone into much depth about the Aquitaines, or really mentioned Attis' role after Gaius Sextus died--

And it's a lot.

"Holding the Crown requires significant political, military, and furycrafting power," he says instead. "And quite frankly while there might be some ambitious or even stupid enough to want the bloody thing," this, coming from the uncrowned First Lord, "no one's stupid enough to have any illusions about actually taking it. Anyone who could have was killed in the wars."

Assassinated by Tavi's family, for the most part.

"We clear out croach as we make our way to the cities still under siege, and kill all the vord along the way. We don't have the resources yet to have fire teams spread out over more area; it will go faster once we do."

"Fire teams," she repeats quietly, giving a small nod. "Well, I don't envy you the hard work ahead, though I imagine some of it at least will be satisfying."

Not the politics. Yeck.

Alanna looks again at the model and calls up a small tornado of sand beside it, swirling her finger in an absent gesture and watching as purple light spins around, too.

Using her Gift like that isn't something she is yet given to do. Not really.

"How is Kitai?"

"Parts of it will, definitely," he says mildly. He rather looks forward to dismantling certain aspects of Aleran politics and society.

Oh, and the fire will be good too.

Alanna's use of her gift makes him smile a little--there are some things furycrafting just can't do, and he always wonders what could be emulated...

But then, Gift or no, he practically lights up himself. "She's fine," he says automatically, smile much brighter. "Absolutely fine. We haven't actually had a chance to make any official announcements, not that there's much point before we know when we'll get around to the wedding. But the family already knows."

His expression turns rather wry. "I think Doroga would have cheerfully played up the intimidating father if he weren't too busy laughing."