Mileya waited until they'd scurried away, breaking any line of sight with Anastasia, before slowing down and catching her breath enough to answer Asta's question. Her face and voice both remained grim, her eyes still scanning the paths around them, though whether for her brother or her cousin was hard to say.
"Anastasia is... different. She's always been a bit scary; whenever she's wanted something, she's always found a way to take it, no matter what our Aunt and Uncle have to say about it. When she was little, I had to spend a lot of time watching her because I..." She hesitated before stating, "Well, I'd been confined to Storm's Peak and didn't have much else to do, so helping with my cousin was my duty. She was clever from a very young age; she figured out how to manipulate beasts even better than my Aunt Dusk very quickly. If she wanted an extra cookie but was told she couldn't have one, then she'd find a way to do it - she'd convince one of her siblings to get it for her, or she'd strongarm one of the staff's kits to go steal it for her. If she didn't like someone, bad things happened to them; I remember when she was maybe ten, she wanted to start sitting in on my uncle's war council meetings, but his military advisor scoffed and said that it was no place for little children. Well, even though my uncle overruled him, Anastasia never forgot or forgave. A week later, a letter was discovered in his chambers implicating him in a plot against my uncle. It all seemed far too convenient, but my uncle couldn't afford to not dismiss him from his service." She shuddered as she recalled, "I asked her if she'd made up the letter herself, and she'd looked me in the eye and told me 'yes'. When I asked her why, she said, 'He was a bad advisor. He wanted to keep the smartest person in Fyador out of that meeting because of her age. Father will do better with my advice instead.'"
Mileya took a breath before continuing. "Even though she didn't have the power in Storm's Peak, she found ways to get rid of beasts she didn't like and help those she did. It wasn't until later on, though, that I..." She swallowed before admitting, "That I started to fear her. It was maybe four years ago? I'd come back to Storm's Peak on a vacation from Amarone, and there was a Callisparian prince visiting, trying to sell my father on the idea of investing in some new technology his family owned. Well, I don't know if he saw me as a possible way to get to my father, or if he really did like me, but he started flattering me very heavily, trying to woo me at every turn." She shuddered as she admitted, "I wasn't ready for that. I was still... Well, I tried deflections and polite refusals at first, but either he didn't get the hint or he wouldn't stop. Eventually one night he found me out in the gardens watching the moon, and he tried to seduce me. I slapped him, told him to leave me alone forever, and stormed off." Her eyes turned haunted as she recalled, "He was pushy and a cad, but I didn't... The next morning his body was found on the rocks, far below the edge of the gardens. Everyone looked so surprised... Not Anastasia though. She was sixteen, and that was the first time I realized that she was willing to kill.
"After that, it only got worse. If anyone challenged the family, they disappeared or met bad ends. Some of our critics in Summerdock suddenly were implicated in crimes that seemed way too complicated for what they could attempt; a priest of the Great Kitsune who denounced our aunt as 'a faithless wh... femme of bad morals," she adjusted the term, "well, he disappeared entirely; and even one of our cousins who was showing up Alwyn a little bit, distinguishing himself in the field, suddenly ran afoul of a band of pirates who seemed to know exactly where and when to find and kill him. From what I've heard, since being given her own command, she's only gotten worse, leading raiding parties onto the mainland itself against my father's orders. The scariest part is that I think that she thinks she's doing something good, that this is helping us somehow. I don't know if she even realizes that the whole family is terrified of what she'll do next."
~~~
Marianna carefully folded the newly acquired clothing, trying to minimize any risk of wrinkles in the fine fabric, as she considered Ivo's reflection. She couldn't help but jump slightly at his pawfingers on her tail; the sensitivity of the appendage and the intimacy of the gesture were enough to make her blush, no matter how often it was repeated. She at least managed to clear her head enough to address his point directly. "I think that you're a very good artist," she remarked, the sentiment actually genuine. She was used to providing flattery or half-truths to the males around her, bolstering their ego to her own end; Ivo was one who she realized she didn't need to butter up for his goodwill. She flicked a stray strand of headfur back over her ear as she continued, "Your landscapes are incredible; you have a gift for realism. As for portraiture, well," a small gleam set in her eyes as she glanced playfully toward him, "I'm happy to model for you at any time."
She hesitated as she contemplated the idea of setting their dangerous life of crime aside. Was this what Vito had been going through at the end? Had he realized how much time he'd wasted on his ambitions, and raced to mend fences with his family before his final rest? "I'd like to experience that with you," she added softly. "A peaceful life. Serenity, domesticity... maybe even family," she allowed, couching it as a distant possibility so as not to scare him. After all, he was younger than her by a good number of years, and fatherhood was the kind of commitment that tended to send younger todds running for the hills. She didn't want to consider the possibility of any nieces or nephews out there who her brother may or may not be aware of or actively hiding from her awareness. "A life with you," she affirmed, looking up at Ivo with sincere affection in her gaze, "would be worth fighting for... and worth giving up those ambitions for."
~~~
Aramaeus blushed a bit as the squirrel bought him the volume in question; letting a femme pay for him, especially for such materials as these, felt almost scandalous to his sensibilities, but he subsumed it for the sake of not losing this new and mysterious patron. He walked beside her down the street, carefully keeping pace with her and her prosthetic limb. "Well," Aramaeus recounted, "I got started as a junior assistant filing clerk in the Case Records office, and I am now a senior assistant filing clerk in the Case Records office. I've actually set a record for the speed of my promotion," he added as an aside. Granted, it was a record for the slowest promotion in the ministry, but a record nonetheless. "It is... satisfactory work," he allowed, clasping his paws behind his back, "but I know that, given the chance, I would make an excellent field agent. I've been searching for some case I can make, something that will be my big break, but unfortunately nothing has panned out." He chuckled before adding, "I actually was trying to get permission to investigate the Furotazzi Family, but it seems my superiors are too cautious when it comes to dealing with such organized crime elements." That, or they were on the take themselves. You never could be sure who was and wasn't in the pocket of the very criminals they were meant to apprehend.
"If I may ask," he directed to Orina, glancing at her sidelong, "what exactly are your ambitions in this gathering, minister? Surely you have better uses of your political capital than on a case such as mine."
~~~
Daniil blushed at the comment and at the presence of an audience, especially a supportive one. He knew how to respond to opprobrium; affirmation was something entirely new to him. "You are too kind, yatai-san," he addressed the vixen, daring a small smile and a kiss on his lover's cheek in turn. It still felt strange; he was used to shrouding his affections in secrecy, and such openness felt like being out in an endless plain - no threats in sight, but the paranoia of unseen dangers in the grass persistent nonetheless.
He squeezed Caden's paw as they moved around to the front of the stand, but dropped it before they entered public visibility again. A moment of regret washed over him; he knew that Caden was braver than him in this regard, and was being patient with Daniil's hang-ups, but even his patience would run out eventually. The fox busied himself looking over the offerings instead. "The shoyu ramen is always delightful," he remarked to Caden, glancing at him to see his preference in where his gaze lingered.
