"First time I've been on this side of the celebrations heralding arrivals from a foreign royal court."

While Cter did her best there wasn't really any way she could have said it without it sounding as pretentious and as self-aggrandizing as it did. Her sudden mention amid the inhales of the brass players and the sound of large, wooden wheels slowing down on detailed cobble had Kry stood next to her tilting his head slightly to the side to hide his chuckling. It was deafened by the brass and wind instruments exhaling their loud, melodic notes to welcome the delegation from Hjearta that arrived first to Jarasevo one early morning without cloud nor fog.

"Just keep your back straight and your aura calm and collected," suggested Kry while pushing up his glasses after they slid down from his surprised chuckle. He glanced down the head he had over Cter with the morning sun reflecting in his gold-rimmed glasses.

"It's more awkward on the receiving end, I've come to learn." The glare in his glasses disappeared as he turned his head down his other shoulder to where Kurant stood. "Ready?" he asked while presenting his sleeved arm which Kurant and Cter joined him in.

"Ready."

The three Monster Mages reached up with their sleeves to the sky, summoning a combined, conjured image of the Crest of Hjearta with their splendid magic. Like fireworks the needles of the conifers representing the grand forests that covered the country shimmered as if dancing with the wind.

A glacier of magic ice rose behind the magical treeline with snow piling up on its surface, melting into a river that filled up a lake in front of the trees. Finally, around it all was a wreath of crystal magic woven in the swirling and colorful patterns of Hjearta's painted moose.

The welcoming display brought with it impressed and approving looks from the delegation exiting the handful of carriages that had slowed down at the courtyard, many of which Cter recognized from the upper rafters at the Noitaidarr Trial, as well as when she was visiting Fenkeep Castle. Seemed like every single time she came in contact with the Hjearta nobility it meant her creating some sort of magical spectacle for them to awe and applaud at.

And again, those were the humans that would be deciding how things were to progress with the human and monster relationship? Humans that were impressed by the equivalent of a carpenter being applauded for nailing a plank to a board to make a sign that says 'Welcome!'?

Just showed how much they weren't knowledgeable with magic, this Hjearta nobility that held such sway in matters political despite not knowing squat about either magic or monsters. Devaluated the Monster Mage's magic at best with their agape mouths and child-like clapping.

"We have the advantage this time," said Kry out of the corner of his mouth at Cter as he sensed the bitterness building in her aura. "Doubly so because it was Hjearta that suggested that the council should be here. They can't continue to say that they are neutral on the whole ordeal if they don't appease some with us too. We know that going into this, and we're going to use that."

The corner of his eye moved towards Sir Gerson and Monster Priestess Frioke welcoming the Royal Mage of Ice who was the one to first bow his head gracefully and in gratitude to Frioke. She bowed back, flattening her ears behind her head as she did.

"Gotta remind them all that it was Frioke who recognized his skills and entrusted him with the position of Royal Mage of Ice. Even though he was appointed by the one monster who invented the lie that hung over the humans for hundreds of year, the Royal Mage of Ice at Fenkeep Castle has never had any mistrust aimed at him. With him bowing his head first he shows that he still trusts her, and so shall the others too."

To Cter it only looked like he was excited to see her again after so many years, but then again she was busy feeling bitter about the other humans from Hjearta that stood grouped behind the Royal Mage of Ice as he and his entourage were declared more welcome than ever to Jarasevo Castle by Sir Gerson. "The hospitality and comradery that has brought forth centuries of peace and prosperity we will remember once more, together! Welcome, honorable humans of Hjearta and Fenkeep Castle! Welcome to Jarasevo Castle, both your hearts and souls!"

For all the cold and subdued importance Sir Gerson carried with his title and job he sure knew when to let that all melt away to make himself the most charismatic monster in the world.

"We hope that you all find comfort and accommodations within the newly renovated rooms we have prepared for your arrival. Please, once you've settled in, do take the opportunity to visit the Royal Garden. It is lovely this time of year, and we are beyond happy that you came to visit at such opportune moment to bare witness to it."

If there were any gears that needed oiling they sure were drowning in it.

Sir Gerson turned around like a carnival performer with a long arm towards the opening castle gate accompanied by more music and cascading magic shooting over the red carpet the Hjearta delegation followed along with awe-inspired steps underneath arcs of splendid magic in all colors of the rainbow. Like large flakes of soft snow the colorful magic settled on the hairs of the Hjearta delegation which they carried with them while tittering and pointing at each other, again almost like children.

They didn't seem to keep murderous intent about the monsters around them and their magic, which was good, at least. Hell, there was no way to tell that they were there to discuss how to proceed with the steady decline of the human and monster relationship. If anything it looked like it was the peak of human and monster relationship, not the valley of it. It looked to be the turning point of the decline with how excited all the humans from Hjearta looked to be.

Oh how Cter prayed it would be…

As the delegation passed by the Monster Mages, Cter caught a glimpse from Terri that he aimed at her deliberately between the many shoulders and puffed-up collars between him and Cter, especially the one of the Fenkeep Royal Mage that was before him, both in succession and on the red carpet.

Cter could not tell what it was exactly even as she tried to feel at his aura through all the magical commotion around her. She knew where to look to find his as he kept a layer of thin rime-frost on his Royal Mage robe as well as on his hair to keep it spiky like the orange icicles he was known for. What he meant by the look though Cter could not discern even when feeling deep enough to risk knowing if Terri kept the rime-frost on his undergarments too.

"Focus, Cter," called Kurant with an elbow into Cter's side, making her lose focus. "It is only smiling and waving right now, remember?"

Yes...she did.

God it felt awkward to her though just standing with her hand in the air waving so artificially. Her smile towards the humans that had seen the white she had exposed underneath her sleeve to make them all realize that it was her fault and no one else needed to be blamed for it.

The way all the Hjearta nobility went along on the red carpet while playing with the colorful magic that settled into their hair had her feeling like she had been an actor in a stage play with the premiere years before the opening ceremony for the premiere.

Surreal, at best.

Sitting very wrong with Cter, at worst.

"For those of you who have not been to Jarasevo Castle before you can leave your bags here with the Royal Guards and follow along the Custodian Ghost Fang Shuey as she takes you through the halls where Monster Kings and Monster Queens have walked and who's dust can still be felt as they welcome you more warmly than I ever could," explained Sir Gerson at the back of the Hjearta delegation that he followed in through the opened castle gate. "Those of you who would like to explore the Royal Garden first may follow the Monster Chef Idyll Fech to let her know what tea and pastry you would like to have in the garden."

Idyll?

Cter's robe and mantle followed her swing around half a second after she turned to look through the dense, excited gathering of the Hjearta delegation. Between the curious collars and honored hairs she saw the feathered side of her friend combed flat against her cheek. She'd never done that.

Her black feathers had always been in wild, just-woken-up bends and angles whenever Cter had seen her. It made it so that her bent feathers shook when she laughed, likewise when she scratched her cheek for both thoughtful and sarcastic purposes. To see her plumage so flat, even at a distance, had Cter feeling more weight about the situation, in a way. If Idyll took it with such weight, then who was Cter to make such light of it?

"May I recommend Golden Flower tea for the Hjearta delegation?" Cter heard Idyll ask as the flat-combed feathers bowed down and the top of Idyll's elbows came up her side widely holding the hem of her chef dress. Her bright hair was bundled into a combined braid, same as Cter's, but with one less than the Monster Mage's. "We have dried a batch picked earlier so it will be more flavorful than any batch you might have enjoyed previously in Hjearta. The Monster Country blend is different than that served in Hjearta, and I hope with all my soul that you will find it to your taste."

Judging by the pleasant murmur of the humans it seemed like Idyll was quite good at it. Stirred up like the tea, the humans seemed to be. Without any question they obeyed her arm motioning for the humans to head down the hallway to the right to the large glass doors out to the Royal Garden. The many heading heads bobbed past Idyll, and between a white wig and a graying scalp, she caught that Cter was observing.

After the last head bobbed past her plus a few steps, Idyll deflated like a flag suddenly without wind. She gripped hard on her collar, grimacing an anxious smile at Cter who returned a supporting thumb raised with pride and encouragement. A fine spritz of greeting pellets made out of thin crystal shot up like a subtle fountain.

Idyll returned a raised thumb of her own along with her own fountain of small ice-blended-fire greeting pellets to show that she was still able to continue. It took a lot out of her, but she would manage. As long as–

A curious finger slicked with rime scooped up some of the blended magic from the hunched-over monster who's long hair and fine-combed feathers fluttered as she shot her back up straight again with her hands clasped on her apron. Even more curious was the Royal Mage of Ice's look as he inspected the small fire within the ice magic that he had scooped from Idyll. He said something to Idyll which had her flinching with a hiccup and her head shaking, rustling her hair and feathers even more.

After a slight laugh and a reassuring gesture of his hand which trailed a hazy cloud behind, Terri formed a small variety of ice in his hand, each one a different texture than the other. Cter could not see them as they laid in his cupped hand, but she could feel in his aura that they were different.

It was subtle, which meant that it was something he was very used to, understandably. He seemed excited too as he pointed to the different ice textures in his hand while explaining to Idyll who became less and less a waitress and more and more like an eager student with each point and explanation Terri gave her.

He only managed one or two fully though before there was the echo of a voice from down the hallway which Terri called back to that he and the Monster Chef were on their way. Rather uncouth and presumptuous he poured his handful of conjured ice into Idyll's apron pocket. She wasn't sure how to react to that at first, but after another quick wave of his hand Terri managed to calm her expression. He motioned down the hallway she had before, and the two headed down it.

"Interesting," muttered Kry from his head above Cter, causing her a startle. "Good to see that the Royal Mage of Ice from Fenkeep Castle is still warm towards monsters, funnily enough." Kry found slight pride in his obvious quip which he tittered with amusement at. "Seems like he was interested in the way the Monster Chef mixes fire and ice magic rather than being outright disgusted by it."

The startle drained from Cter, replaced by a somewhat-insulted tingle up her spine and aura. "What?" The tingle was strong enough to have Kry's face retreated into defensive excuses before Cter had fully turned around. "What do you mean by that, exactly?"

"It was my stress talking," defended Kry with his palms up and his aura displayed to show that he wasn't lying. "Sorry, that was quite mean on my part."

Yes, yes it was.

Very much so, even.

"We've enough on our plates without being snarky," agreed Kurant after having tightened a strap on her knee brace. "If stress is getting to you then it's better to just be quiet, Kry."

Defeated, and knowing fully well why and accepting it, Kry plucked away his glasses from his nose and massaged its strong bridge. "I should've went to bed earlier last night," the First Monster Mage said in his disappointed sigh at himself. "Not an excuse for being an idiot though." He shook his head, replacing his glasses once done. "Again, sorry. I don't know what prompted me to say that."

"Stress?" quirked Cter the same as her eyebrow.

Kry's long sigh finished with a huffed "Yeah".

To have her mind try and push away what Kry had said, Cter took the effort to turn and look over the many monsters that had been a part of the ceremony to greet the Hjearta delegation. Instrument players, flag bearers, rainbow-snow makers, Monster Mages, and so on. The nervous anticipation leading up to the ceremony had been replaced by small talk about how well it went, all things considered.

A few accidental notes played from the wind instruments among the talking which seemed quite relaxed in comparison to the prior nervous energy that had oscillated knees and lips alike. It was interesting to witness, especially since Cter was a part of it too.

"It's a bit clearer to me now how the flags work now that I see them," she commented with a casual motion of her hand over to the flag bearers reaching into the Hjearta flags they had been waving. After some shoulder-deep rummaging they managed to pull out the Xoff flag to replace the Hjearta one they folded inwards. The colors of the human flags were starkly contrasted. "Guess it was simpler to just sew the two flags back-to-back rather than magically hiding the one inside the other."

"Having the Royal Guards focusing on waving the flags rather than waving the flags and also magically alter the colors of the flag fabric has them waving with more passion, as you saw," said Kry with a nod to his head.

"It looked like someone had spilled a bucket of various paints onto the fabric when we first tested the magical option," added Kurant with a shake to her head. She placed her hand over her mouth. "If either delegation would see how botched their crests were they would have turned around right away at the mere glimpse out their carriage windows." She breathed out between her sleeved fingers over her mouth. "Like a picture book of animals and symbols torn up and sprinkled like garnish on top of a rotten stew."

Kry and Cter were slightly perturbed by Kurant's vivid depiction.

"...Okay."

With a glimpse over to the sun dial installed a few long steps away from the castle gate many years ago to help the Royal Guards keep track of their shifts, Cter gleaned that there were a few hours left until the Xoff delegation was set to arrive. She knew that already, but felt that it was necessary to look and confirm it. The magically added ticking sound to the sun dial was luckily drowned out by the murmur of the surrounding commotion.

She knew that the sun dial was accurate already since the Hjearta delegation had arrived on time. Not that an old sun dial would be able to control how the roads and carriages for the Xoff delegations were gonna be and predict any bumps in the road, be they literal of metaphorical.

No, the reason she turned away from the variety of monsters wearing similar-to-same garbs adorned with the Delta Rune was because it felt a bit awkward to her to look at the aftermath of the ceremonial greeting involving music and visual spectacle. Compared to the height the magic and music raised the energy in the air, the myriad of monsters rolling thumbs, feathers, tentacles, and so on, all seemed to be confused as to what they were supposed to do besides waiting.

They could not just pack up and then unpack once the Xoff delegation was under yonder of Castle Hill, for that would have resulted in them having to unpack as soon as they got done packing to be in time for the Xoff delegation's arrival. They could not just leave the instruments, flags, banners, flower baskets, and so on, and head to lunch either. The castle was busy being toured by humans from Hjearta who had it in them to either further devolve or rebuild relations between humans and monsters. Having a bunch of bored monsters roaming the hallways idly to kill time wasn't exactly needed or wanted.

So the monsters just...rolled their thumbs or closest-approximation to thumbs while chatting about nothing. Like a purposeless tavern-gathering of enthusiasts without any enthusiasm to go around.

That Cter still ended up staring at despite her efforts not to.

She sighed.

"Usually they are all dismissed after the fanfare is over," came a familiar voice from behind walking up to her and her Monster Mage colleagues. "But usually we don't have it scheduled to be two fanfares on the same day." Sir Gerson stood himself between Kry and Kurant with his hands clasped behind his shell. Cter looked behind her to see if Frioke would be joining.

"The Monster Priestess is with the Royal Mage of Ice to try and make it more clear to the humans that he is indeed still trustful of her," explained the turtle monster calmly while looking through the thick bars of the castle gate he had bypassed through the wooden door next to it.

"Few things I think are necessary to be overly displaying about, and that is one of the few cases. If I could arrange it I would have had the Royal Mage of Ice sign in ink, blood, and dust that he pledges his soul in trust to the Monster Priestess of Jarasevo Castle." As if he had not said that at all, Sir Gerson reached up his shell and into it behind his neck, taking out a deck of cards that he held up to the Monster Mages' stares. "A few rounds to pass the time?"

"Ink, blood, and dust?" repeated Kurant with her eyes opening slightly in reaction. "Who's dust would it be?"

Sir Gerson shuffled the question in among the cards he let flow between his hands, never to be seen again. "Did you know that I was asked to be the model for the jacks for this set?" he instead asked back while displaying the bottom card of his shuffled stack that featured a Royal Guard wielding a spade in honor like a spear.

It was the jack of clubs.

Which annoyed Cter.

With a sleight of his finger, Sir Gerson folded the jack of clubs face-down before shuffling it back into the deck. "They painted my green wrong though so I ultimately declined it." He shuffled for a few more seconds before conjuring up a simple table which he placed the deck onto. "But anyways, preferably it would be the dust of Priestess Frioke to show that the bond is two-ways."

Kry picked up the deck, cutting it three-wise. "And like with everything else about the Hjearta delegation you would have wanted this done at the door so that we'd have it ready for the Xoff delegation later on?" He handed over the three cut sections to Kurant to fold together into one deck again. "Welcome the Royal Mage of Ice to Jarasevo Castle by bleeding him so that he could proclaim his trust to the monsters?"

"Not at the gate, no," said Sir Gerson with a dense shake to his head while Kurant began to deal the cards to the four participants using stasis magic. Both Kry and Cter kept their auras close to Kurant's so that she wouldn't cheat by feeling what the cards were while she dealt them.

Sir Gerson collected his cards, fanning them out widely in his hand.

"I'd offer him some tea before, at least."