The room was grand, elegant, and comfortable. Aethril had missed it in some twisted way; she'd never really left it, after all, but she missed sitting in chairs or sprawling out on a bed so far the muscles in her limbs untwisted and the bones popped.

Hibernation had been rough. She had no idea how long it'd been since she fell into it, and she had no idea if anyone were still alive. Every inch of her ached, her head was pounding through her skull, and she could have drunk a gallon of water right then and there.

She had woken up an hour or so ago. In that time, she had spent it just... living. She washed up, she got dressed. She pulled the curtains back and opened the windows to stare out at the gardens for a little while. She lounged from here to there, rearranged the plush cushions and pillows in her bed, and pulled an armchair to the window to go back to staring out across Cepheus, drinking in the cool air.

There was no rush-- not until Aethril realised how quiet it was. Not until the silence was ringing in her very ears and drowning out the distant sound of Lessers carolling away somewhere far off. Not until something was gnawing at the very back of her skull; questions she couldn't think of the answer to.

When Aethril got up and went for the door it wasn't necessarily because she wanted to demand answers out of the first form of sentient life she could find. There was an absent form of loneliness that plumed and blossomed in the very bottom of her stomach, a feeling that led her to quietly listen in on the other doors down the hallway, trying to gauge some kind of sign of life without invading anyone's privacy.

Right up to the barrier, she'd heard nothing.

A breath steadied the Valkhand just before she stepped through it, only just grimacing as the layer of magic passed along her face and yanking the end of her skirt and cloak out of it.

"Hello?" She called. She stuck near the barrier, her fingers tight around the loose cloth. She bent one way, looking down a hallway, and then looked down the other. "Is anyone--" still alive? "--there?"

Every day Eggbert had scurried the halls to check that each room was as it should be; some remained empty while others were kept at the ready for any surprise visitor. But the most important ones were behind the seals—the barriers that kept out any uninvited guests. The lessers that worked the Palace could move freely through most of them, and Eggbert could move through any he wished: it was his job to check everything! Some wings were even sealed twice, once at the entrance and again later down. Lord Dhracia's chambers were behind several such at these, and also a more permanent resident that had been asleep while Isra and Eggbert watched the Palace.

Though she had slept every day, Eggbert was still tasked to check on her. Thankfully he had never needed to report to Isra about failing vitals or draining magic. All of his reports were positive! The same every day, which was very good! Eggbert was very good at his jobs!

As he scuttled across the tile toward the barrier that shielded the resident from the rest of the Palace, he was shocked to see her standing—awake! standing!—on the free side. He let out a quiet "wack!" of surprise as his eyes went wide. He hurried over, murmuring soft sounds and squeaks echoed only by the clicking of his claws. His broad tail wiggled behind him as he sniffed at her and nodded several times. Wow, it had been so long!

His bill was busy flapping as he chatted at her in meeps and mrrs, though she'd be able to understand him, strangely, as Isra could: "Wow! Good morning! How are you feeling! Are you hungry? Oh, boy! We should let Isra know you have woken! It is very good to see you! I missed you!" He blinked excitedly at her as his entire body wriggled side to side with his tail.

@Aethril

Wack!

"Eggbert!" Aethril cried, relief lurching throughout her body. She reached out to pet him while he sniffed and chattered away,--careful of his little hat, of course --half-choking on sobs that were just barely restrained. "I missed you, too."

The anxiety of whether or not everyone had died while Aethril slept was quickly washed away. She crouched down, on the floor, no less, to offer the writhing Eggbert a hug.

"I'm fine," she reassured, face split with a delighted grin. "I'm very happy to see you're still around-- and Isra, too! How have things been for you two?"

And how long had it been? What had she missed? What does she do now? As much as the mere sight of Eggbert but her at ease she was still bustling with questions; things that she didn't want to plague poor Eggbert with.

As much as she would have loved to sit on the floor and spend time with him, Aethril was soon pushing up. "We should go and see Isra," she said, rustling out her skirt. "Can you take me to her?"

As he was embraced, his entire body relaxed in her arms and his murmurs softened into a purr, plush cheek nuzzling against her. Oh, it felt so good to be hugged!

As they parted, he nodded, his chatty sounds saying, "Good, good! Boring for a long time, but wow! So many visitors recently, it has been fun! Busy for Eggbert, but fun!" Busy for both of them really. He looked up to Aethril with sparkling eyes as she stood up. When she asked to see Isra, he nodded again.

"Yes, yes! We will go together!" he squeaked, scooting back to turn around and lead her through the Palace. He was not super sure where Isra was at the moment, but the two of them could find her together! He waddled across the tile with his head held high. Important Resident coming through! Out of the way! In his mind, he imagined rolling out a red carpet for her, and a goofy smile split his bill as he thought of it.

—

After a quick trip through the residential wing, they came upon the main lobby where Eggbert struggled up some stairs (he was not a good shape for climbing stairs), then scurried down another hallway to an open balcony. The entrance was swathed in thin, silky sheets, which Eggbert moved effortlessly underneath, but Aethril would have to push them aside.

The balcony overlooked the gardens, and lounging on an extra-large, extra-long chair was Isra. Her head tilted upward but her eyes were not yet open.

"Eggbert?" she called, knowing him by the click of his claws.

"Miss Aethril is awake!!" he blurted happily, wiggling to a stop near the chair.

Flame-like eyes ignited and focused toward the doorway.

"My, my," she said with a smile, gesturing to a second chair near hers. Between the chairs was a small, round table, topped with a tiered plate that included fruits and cheeses. "Good afternoon, Aethril. I regret to inform you that you have missed the hours for complimentary breakfast." Isra shot her a toothy, bony grin and reached a thick paw out to push the table closer to Aethril. "Just kidding. Help yourself."

She waited for a moment, shifting so that she was facing the two of them, and waited for Aethril to get comfortable. They had a lot to talk about. Eggbert lay where he stopped, with all four legs spreading flat across the ground—a sploot, if you will. He lay like a smashed starfish with his broad tail still occasionally waving.

@Aethril

Boring. Aethril sighed with some gentle relief at that; but she felt the muscles in her shoulders knotting together at the mention of visitors. Her eyes darted upwards and looked down the hall, and then focused back on Eggbert.

"Are they nice visitors?" She asked very conversationally as she started trailing after him, folding her arms behind her. This was the only thing she'd ask of him while they walked, however-- and only if to make sure they were being nice to Eggbert.

She dipped down to try and help Eggbert up the stairs before following him down the hallway and parting the curtains with both hands. She paused, grinned, and pushed them aside. "You're looking good, Isra," Aethril said as she stepped out onto the balcony, stepping around the splooter.

There was a pause. 'Regret to inform' wasn't something Aethril ever wanted to hear, but--

Her gaze flicked up to Isra and she offered a little huff of amusement. "I assume complimentary lunch hours are on the horizon?" She joked, taking a seat next to Isra. "Thank you."

A small piece of diced mango was taken from the plate as Aethril adjusted, getting comfortable on the chair. She took a long breath and slumped back a little, glancing down towards the gardens before she was addressing Isra again. "How have you been?"

Aethril's smile quietly lingered for a moment. "It's good to see that you're both still around," she added, delivering niceties until she got to what she was aching to ask-- "how long has it been?"

Eggbert had nodded to her question and chattered happily about how nice the visitors had been! He was grateful for her support up the steps and even purred as much to her when they reached the top.

—

Isra let a rush of air escape her nose when Aethril complimented her. As they got settled on the balcony, Isra tried to run through the things in her head that she should inform their visiting—or permanent?—Hand of. She nodded at the thank you and hummed at the question.

"Oh, you know, as well as we can be with fuck-all to do," she said dryly, tail lashing behind her. And—how long had it been? "Hmm. I cannot remember when exactly you finally fell asleep, but it has been about five thousand years since things started to go quiet. So, happy birthday, times five thousand, give or take." A joking smile. "There was some sort of earthquake that shifted things awake about five or six years ago, and only last year did the gembounds discover the Palace. Oh, gembounds—dreadful creatures born from Natural Order."

She paused for a moment, drumming her toes against the cushion.

"Skystone has replaced the Oilstone spire in Polaris," she said, her tone shifting into a more serious one as she began to give a formal report of sorts. "The only remaining Oilstone spires are the small one in Tunnel K, and the one in Draco. There is Dontacael's Hive in Ursa, and I believe some of the others tried to launch an assault on it, but failed. The Hive have tried to infect the gembound, but I do not think it has gotten many of them. I am almost certain there must be a Clearstone spire in Ursa, but it has not been located." Her head turned to view the gardens. "Any time the Hive comes into Cepheus, we stop it, though. It hasn't impacted the nest's ability to produce mother valkhounds so it hasn't been high on my priority list." And her priority list was pretty short. "The gembound are unique in that they can hatch with elemental domains, like those the Masters of this nest were given, but I do not know why. A gift from Natural Order, I guess."

Eggbert gave a little whine and Isra reached forward to toss him some fruits and cheeses.

Her focus returned to Aethril. "So long story short, after the rebellion, much of the nest fell into hibernation. I thought we had been abandoned, but nevertheless, we looked after you. An earthquake woke the nest up and it was then discovered that there was now a Skystone spire in Polaris, and only after this did the gembound start to hatch, mostly mirroring Earth animals. Thankfully, the Hydra Overseer picked up the pace of lost things and began to get the nest functional again. He was promoted to Master recently—Master Vargas. You can find him in Draco. Of the Masters, he is the most diligent." Isra's flame-eyes rolled. "Astraea—oh, dear, or should I say: D-E-E-R—was affected by the Skystone. He was reformed as an Earth creature, a deer. Quite funny, really. You'll know him by his ruby, though. Anyway, I think he had been brainwashed or something by the Skystone, but he seems to be coming back around. His attention to the important things seems to ebb and flow."

Finally, a smirk in her skull-like face. "Lord Dhracia has started to visit again, quite regularly, even. Perhaps you two can catch up next time she's around."

After she allowed that to settle, she asked, "How are you feeling?"

Eggbert looked up from his snacks and smiled to the two of them. He didn't have an opinion on any of the important stuff they talked about. He was just happy to be in their company.

@Aethril

Aethril offered a more fleeting smile as she began to eat the dice of mango, listening quietly. It was approximately twelve seconds before she promptly forgot how to chew and swallow as the fruit lodged in her throat.

"Five-- thousand?" She choked, a fist covering her mouth as she hacked up the mango cube and re-swallowed. She'd expected a century-- maybe two, maybe at most a thousand-- she was only three of those.

Well. She wasn't anymore.

Her brow knitted into a knot as she leaned back in her chair, hands falling over onto her lap and fingers interlocking. As Isra kept talking, she took a long, deep breath and tried to listen, tried to move on, tried not to linger.

It was a little easier with the amount of information Isra had. There was a lot to comb over-- a lot Aethril could barely remember the meaning of. "--dreadful, how?" She asked first.

A hand slowly lifted to massage her fingertips into her temple. Spires and Hives and Masters and whatnot were starting to fill her head as she picked through her own mind to apply meaning to what Isra was telling her. The headache was back; eating away at the base of her skull.

Fingers trawled across her face, resting on her jaw, as she followed Isra's glance to Eggbert and back again, and only then did she perk up a little. "Thank you," she said with quite genuine gratitude-- she liked Isra and Eggbert. She was glad for them and glad for their care.

She was perking up further as Isra continued. "A deer?" She asked with clear bemusement, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth. She tried to imagine it-- Astraea, a deer, prancing through various ferns and things with silly little legs and a sillier little tail. "I hope he's enjoying himself."

As for Vargas, she knew a little of the name-- mostly, his work hunting down rebels. "Does he mind visitors?" She asked. "I'd like to see what he's doing in Draco."

And finally, a little hum left her throat at the mention of Lord Dhracia, whose face she could barely visualize. "I'd like to keep my room here, if that's alright with you," she offered Isra a little smile. "I could catch her sometime when we're both here."

Aethril tilted her head back for a moment, before rolling her neck around to look down the balcony at the gardens again in the brief silence. There was a sense of peace rolling over her again, calming, relaxing--

"Ahh, a little sore," she huffed bemusedly. "Quite tired, funnily enough."

Her head turned back towards Isra. "You've done well here, Isra-- really. Thank you-- and thank you, too, Eggbert," she added, so that he didn't feel left out.

"Thank you." Isra nodded. "Of course," she said gently. It was her job, anyway, but she did enjoy it. Her time spent with Dhracia was fun, anyway. Now Aethril could join them.

Isra let out a laugh on the topic of Astraea. Oh, he was not enjoying himself, but that made it better.

"Vargas might mind some visitors, but he is very welcoming to the Hands. He has already completed some work for Lord Dhracia, so it would be beneficial for you two to meet. Perhaps he could help you regain your bearings better than my ramblings could." An apologetic smile. "But if you need to collect waning magic, I could spar with you, if you wanted. Vargas too. He has a myriad of valkhounds in Draco that might do well for it."

Her head tilted at the question. "Oh, Aethril, honey. That will always be your room. Do with it as you please," Isra said warmly. There would be hell to raise when all the girls got together again. Isra, Dhracia, Aethril, Nemean... She grinned at the thought.

Isra nodded at the status report. Expected, but not bad. "Feel free to stretch your legs anywhere here, of course. You have permissions to enter any room and use any of the amenities. If you need anything, call on me or on Eggbert." She smiled at the thank-you. "Of course."

Eggbert looked up excitedly as he was named by Aethril, bill smacking on soft fruits, little teeth doing work. His body waved side-to-side with the effort he used to wag his broad tail. "Eggbert is here for you!" he purred through his snacks.

@Aethril

Aethril was humming. She couldn't imagine Vargas being much for conversation, but she didn't know him very well. "I do like your ramblings, Isra," she sighed. There was a calmness to it, after all-- a sense of normalcy she didn't quite realise she was missing.

Sitting around. Chatting. Resting. Just living. She'd missed it sorely.

"Another time, I think. I don't need you knocking me out for another few thousand years," she joked, though her mind was lingering on Vargas and Draco, quietly mapping out the way from Cepheus to Draco. She wanted to see his work; see what she was missing out on. A part of her wanted to get back to work.

Another thought of the rebellion, and familiar anxiety sank like a pit in her chest. Isra said it was over, and Aethril very much trusted Isra with her life; but that paranoia snagged her like thorns. Maybe, just maybe, Vargas had something to help with that.

Her head rolled and she smiled at Isra until her eyes were narrow, cat-like slits. "Thank you, Isra. Let me know if there's anything I can do to make your life easier."

Back again, the very back of her skull rolling against the back of the chair, Aethril sighed a little. "I think I'll take a walk," she said. "And then rest." Because she hadn't done enough of that over the last era.

Isra smiled when Aethril mentioned liking her ramblings. It was nice to have others to talk to, anyway. She barked a laugh at the Hand's comment, with a quick, "Well, I'd go easy on you!" But it would probably be better for Aethril to visit Vargas anyhow.

She shifted, relaxing back into a more comfortable position, with a quiet growl—or purr?—of acknowledgment, flame-eyes caught on Aethril's smile. "Thank you," she said, returning the smile, although it was a strange display on the bone-like structure of her face.

"Enjoy. If your walk is within the Palace grounds, feel free to take this one with you," she offered, gesturing with a large paw to Eggbert. He had finished his snacks and was looking between them eagerly. Isra's head tilted to look at him, and she clicked her tongue to get his attention. "You may not follow her beyond the river, Eggbert. Understand?" He made a noise not unlike a whine, and nodded.

"Yes, yes, Eggbert knows."

* ok to fade here if you like ! @Aethril