Marianna smiled at Ivo, the vision of the life he proposed deeply appealing, but... No. He was right; they both had too much drive, too much ambition, to settle quite yet. Even if they were together, if they embraced who and what they were openly, they couldn't leave behind this life quite yet. Perhaps they could moderate it; she could shift her focus back toward the white-collar side of crime, letting Falun handle the dirty work. Was that what Vito was going through? she wondered. Did he want to settle down, enjoy his last remaining years with his family, wash his paws of the dirty business? She actually could respect that. Perhaps he'd had the right idea after all.
She squeezed Ivo's paw, smiling as she looked to him. "You're right," she advised him softly. "I don't think either of us are ready to give up our ambitions quite yet, but... well, maybe we don't have to. Vito raised a family while running the Furotazzis, after all, and there are plenty of power couples in Imperial history: Vladimir and Verethian, Gordon and Sken, the Ryalor-Rainblades - 'Gates, two different pairs," she remarked. "Falun and Tanya, and the current pair, Talinn and Dusk. It's not an easy life," she allowed, "but I think we'd both get bored with an easy life, wouldn't we?" She looked to Ivo with a smile, the prospect of facing the unique challenges of their life as a pair far more appealing to her.
~~~
Mileya paused at Asta's request, taking shelter with her against the alley wall. "Sorry," she apologized, a little of her southern Fyadorian accent slipping through in the way she extended the 'ee' sound. "I forgot how heavy those things are." She looked down at it in concern. "Is it alright?" she asked, worry in her voice. "It didn't hit anything as we ran?"
~~~
Daniil's smile, buoyed by delight at the vixen's kind and supportive words, faded as the pair returned to the square and found it empty. He furrowed his brow, looking about for Asta or for his sister's signature gray fur. "I don't know," he remarked. "Asta! Miriya!" His voice called out across the square, hoping that they'd hear him in the commotion of the crowd. He felt a sudden impulse to grip his sword, mitigated only by the food in his paws. "They can't have gone far," he told Caden, looking about for any sign of them.
~~~
Aramaeus nodded along with the squirrel's explanation, trying to obscure that he had no idea what he meant at all. While he deeply admired politicians like Mayor Freedom who managed to make positive change happen, the dance of power in back rooms and private conversations that made politics run was simply impossible for him to understand. Aramaeus thought of the world in rules, regulations, restrictions; all of that was far too murky and nebulous for him to feel comfortable with.
"I see," he commented. "And what exactly is it that you believe I'll be bringing to your, ah, capital?"
She squeezed Ivo's paw, smiling as she looked to him. "You're right," she advised him softly. "I don't think either of us are ready to give up our ambitions quite yet, but... well, maybe we don't have to. Vito raised a family while running the Furotazzis, after all, and there are plenty of power couples in Imperial history: Vladimir and Verethian, Gordon and Sken, the Ryalor-Rainblades - 'Gates, two different pairs," she remarked. "Falun and Tanya, and the current pair, Talinn and Dusk. It's not an easy life," she allowed, "but I think we'd both get bored with an easy life, wouldn't we?" She looked to Ivo with a smile, the prospect of facing the unique challenges of their life as a pair far more appealing to her.
~~~
Mileya paused at Asta's request, taking shelter with her against the alley wall. "Sorry," she apologized, a little of her southern Fyadorian accent slipping through in the way she extended the 'ee' sound. "I forgot how heavy those things are." She looked down at it in concern. "Is it alright?" she asked, worry in her voice. "It didn't hit anything as we ran?"
~~~
Daniil's smile, buoyed by delight at the vixen's kind and supportive words, faded as the pair returned to the square and found it empty. He furrowed his brow, looking about for Asta or for his sister's signature gray fur. "I don't know," he remarked. "Asta! Miriya!" His voice called out across the square, hoping that they'd hear him in the commotion of the crowd. He felt a sudden impulse to grip his sword, mitigated only by the food in his paws. "They can't have gone far," he told Caden, looking about for any sign of them.
~~~
Aramaeus nodded along with the squirrel's explanation, trying to obscure that he had no idea what he meant at all. While he deeply admired politicians like Mayor Freedom who managed to make positive change happen, the dance of power in back rooms and private conversations that made politics run was simply impossible for him to understand. Aramaeus thought of the world in rules, regulations, restrictions; all of that was far too murky and nebulous for him to feel comfortable with.
"I see," he commented. "And what exactly is it that you believe I'll be bringing to your, ah, capital?"
