This is War!

[King Quirinoh of Nehan]

"Those mangy, god forsaken, gutter dogs," King Quirinoh said as he paced across the far end of the War Room in a fury, "How dare they?!" "If I might sir, they merely released some prisoners of war, this is not something we need to worry about," chimed in an older general who sat with the others around the large table. "Worry? This is not worry. They infiltrated our castle, what's to stop them coming right up to my room and killing me next time, or worse, taking my darling Edon, no, we must fight back. "If I might sir," another general chirped up from the far corner of the table, "Do you plan on trying to catch smoke as well? These... creatures are elusive, our guards didn't sight them enter the castle, our men have searched every nook and cranny of Spirit, they are nowhere to be found, we are vulnerable until they're base is found, how do you plan to find them."

"If I had a plan, do you think I would call you all into this room? I do not call war meetings so that I can inform you of a perfect plan, I call them to get your opinions, what do you think we should do?," Quirinoh said as he looked at the table, his arms spread on it as he leaned on it, "This is not some childish pursuit, these Fae, and some traitorous humans, have deliberately defied my command, I demand they be hunted down, every one of them, this is war!"

[Skyvy]

Timidly, the gazelle shapeshifter headed down the hall toward the War Room where he had been called by his king. Apparently, he had some message he wanted delivered to his men stationed in Spirit - at least the slave that had been sent to retrieve Skyvy had told him that was the case. Also according to the slave, the king was so riled up because of the recent escapings in the dungeon, which everyone knew were because of the Song of Heroes.

Oh gods.
The closer he got to the door of the War Room, the louder the yelling became. It really made the shifter nervous. He didn't like yelling, particularly if he was the one being yelled at. So the shifter ended up pausing outside the door, hesitating there in case he interrupted something important and the yelling was turned onto him instead.

"This is war!"

That was King Quirinoh's voice, and he certainly seemed angry. But, Skyvy doubted he could stand out here much longer without becoming suspiciously late, so the gazelle sucked down a deep breath and held it there for a second, releasing it slowly.
Only then did he push open the doors.
Immediately, the members of the war meeting turned to look at him, and Skyvy hesitated again. Just ignore them, Sky... Don't get freaked out now. That was harder to do than think, however, but Skyvy managed to ignore the looks he was getting from the war council and turned his attention to the king.

"Your majesty, sorry to interrupt... You summoned me?" The boy was pleased with the way his voice didn't shake, and that helped to settle his churning stomach a lot. Skyvy didn't like being the center of attention. It made him nervous and slightly queasy, but of course the shifter tried not to show it. Succeeding in that, however, was a different story.

[King Quirinoh of Nehan]

"Welcome Skyvy, I hope you are well rested and ready to venture to spirit?," he asked, but continued on without waiting for an answer, "Either way, I need you to deliver a message to our post in Spirit, nothing big, just a little note informing them of the new policies concerning the Song of Heroes." He then took a piece of parchment that was lying on the table and began to scrawl fancy letters on it:

"Commander Saterina,
Word may have reached your ears of a recent breach in security and a mass prisoner breakout here at the castle. In response to this I am ordering increased search efforts for the Song of Heroes. They must be found at any and all costs. You have free range to interrogate and arrest anyone suspicious, this is war.
Signed,
Your Majesty, King Quirinow of Nehan"

He then rolled the parchment up before walking to the fireplace in the corner where a large vat stewed atop it with vibrant red wax filling it to it's brim. Taking a small ladle like instrument from the side of the fireplace he dipped it in the liquid before dabbing a bit on the overlapped section of the parchment before taking an iron that rested in the flames and pressing it into the wax and watching the wax harden into his seal. He then returned the equipment to it's appropriate place and walked towards Skyvy with the scroll in hand and a ribbon in his other hand, which he had pulled from a small pouch on his belt and handed the two to Skyvy, "this message is only to be delivered to Commander Saterina, no one else," he said as he turned away, "Make haste, may the gods be with you."

[Skyvy]

A message to Spirit, huh?
That wasn't hard at all. Spirit, which took about a week to reach on foot, would take him only three days to reach if he was shifted and running and that was including the stops to rest, eat, and relieve himself. So, he estimated it would take him about six days or so to give the message to this Commander Sateria and return to tell the king that the deed was done. Not too bad, even if he did say so himself.

The shifter watched his king write and seal the letter, and he took the offered scroll and ribbon when King Quirinoh handed them to him. Skyvy nodded in response to the instructions he had received, a timid smile forming on his lips. "Of course, my king. I'll have delivered the message and returned within a week."

If all went well, that is.
Sky really hoped everything went well.
The shifter had been very lucky with captures so far, numbering only two at this point. He had escaped with his life in both instances as well as escaping without giving out the information he carried. Skyvy had no qualms about pretending to give out information.

He hesitated for a few moments, waiting to see if the king had anything else he wanted to say to him, before the shifter decided that that was all he was wanted for and turned to leave. Some of the war council continued to stare at the gazelle as he walked toward the door, and Skyvy tried not to show how nervous that made him.
Why did they have to stare at him?
Couldn't they work on a war plan instead or something?[/font]

[Stehfanie of Nehan]

Stehfanie had been looking for her father for a few hours. She'd actually forgotten what it was she'd wanted at this point, it had been so trivial. It didn't matter. She'd probably remember it when she found him, anyways.

With her narrowed down list of probable locations, the War Room seemed to be a likely candidate. He did spend an awful lot of time in there, talking to the men who really weren't qualified to be advising on anything.
Stehfanie could probably figure out battle plans, if those idiot old men would let her.

She curtsied when she entered, nodded to the Shifter-looking fellow, and proceeded to announce herself.
Properly.
And then some.
"Princess Stehfanie requesting an audience with Our Rightful King Quirinoh of Nehan (may he live a long life), assuming that he has time in his schedule to fit such an audience at this point in time, as witnessed by the men on this collective War Council (and, provided their permission for such an intrusion, accepted by), and one extra party, on the topic of the watering of plants, or accusations towards the lack thereof."
She curtsied a second time.
Psh. Her tutors would have been absolutely shocked. She didn't usually go the distance when it came to manners. Really, she was just showing off to the servant boy. Messenger? Spy? Whatever. He was adorable. Maybe a bit young... Not to mention the fact that he looked like a dirty Shifter... Still, adorable.
She winked at the poor boy. Looked like he was about to run out of the room.

Ah. Right, she'd remembered the problem.
She'd been asked to water the plants in her quarters again. Totally unfair. What were servants for if not for dealing with things like watering plants?

[King Quirinoh of Nehan]

'You may speak Pumpkin, but make it quick, I'm rather busy at the moment," Quirinoh replied to his daughter in the kindest voice he could muster, "And drop the act, we all know your not really so full of manners." He flicked his gaze around the room and then took his seat at the head of the table, "Well come on dear, I haven't got all day." He then whispered something very low to General Emitte, who sat directly to his right. "As you wish your majesty," the General replied before standing and walking towards the door. The King then placed the a smirk little smile on his face and leaned back in his high-back chair as he waited for his daughters answer.

[Stehfanie of Nehan]

Stehfanie wasn't fazed in the slightest. She could complain about the trivial in front of as many generals as she wanted. It was their problem if they didn't like it.
"I would like to see to it that a servant waters the plants in my quarters, as I've been asked to do so and that really isn't something I should have to do. I would have directed the request at the Queen, but she was the one who ordered me to water them in the first place."
That seemed to be just about it...
"Thank you. I'm done now."
She wasn't giving up on her manners, either. She was being blatantly rude by going on with the act, which seemed rather ironic in her own head.
She curtsied and retreated to stand next to the servant boy. She would probably follow him out. Possibly follow him around until he decided to leave the castle.
Heck, if she was really bored she'd figure out where he lived and bother him there. Slumming about for a few hours was always fun, even if she had to be sneaky about it.

[Skyvy]

He was startled when someone entered the room just as he was about to leave. Skyvy stepped back out of the way, allowing the newcomer to enter - more than likely, it was someone more important than he was, and even if it was just a servant, Sky was still the type to allow others to do as they pleased over what he wanted. The newcomer ended up being Princess Stehfanie.

Skyvy smiled slightly at the nod he received and was about to leave when the princess' request caught his attention. She was being rather formal... Was that particularly normal amongst the royal family? Sky had never really seen King Quirinoh interact with his wife or children, so the boy really didn't know. Or perhaps it was because of the war council in the room?
The king seemed to think she was fooling with them.
Aww... that made more sense, he supposed.

Color blossomed on his face as the princess turned toward him and winked. Oh gods... What was he supposed to do with that? The boy stood there blushing for a few moments. Then Stehfanie moved over to stand beside him.
Okay, it was time to deliver his message.
He could feel his face heating up even more do to his embarrassment.
The shifter ducked his head. "If you'll excuse me..." Skyvy murmured before slipping behind the princess and disappearing out the door. Once outside of the War Room, the gazelle stood there and silently calmed himself down.

Damn his embarrassment.
It was a nuisance for sure.

Well, Skyvy had different things to worry about. Brown eyes flicked to the message in his hand. It was time to go to Spirit and deliver that scroll to Commander Sateria. The sooner he got the message out of his hands and into the commander's the better.[/color]

[King Quirinoh of Nehan]

"May the gods be with you," King Quirinoh said as Skyvy left the room on his mission, the mission that might save his people, no, it would save his people, it was the only hope. "As for you young lady," he said as he turned to focus his attention on his daughter, "I believe, that those plants are under your jurisdiction as you were the one who commissioned them to be placed within your dormitory," he then paused and ran a hand along the mantle, seeming to debate something, "Furthermore, your mother's words shall be followed to the letter, I don't ever want to find you sneaking around her back trying to get out of things."

He may not truly love his wife, but she had a point, Stehfanie had wanted those plants in her room and she had to take care of them while they were there. If they ever left the room to rest somewhere else in the castle they wouldn't be her problem anymore. But the wheels in his head gave a quarter turn and he decided that even if they did come to rest in one of the courtyards, or one of the massive halls, or out on the balconies, he would still have water them for a week just to teach her a lesson. It was then that he realized that he had been staring at a potted fern all this time with the smuggest smile ever, plastered on his face and he quickly drew himself up and shook his head slightly. "That is all, you are dismissed Princess Stehfanie of Nehan, may the gods be with you," Quirinoh said before bowing slightly and turning to the table, "Now General Iertlo, are your troops ready to march?" "My men are always ready to march for they're king." "Good, then I think it's time we send the Song a message, your men will march tomorrow, I want every street, every alley, every bar to have at least five of your men on it at all times, you have full freedom to do what is necessary."