Ask to Join The Princess and the Damsel

The world is your play den~
˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

Smokey practically vibrated where he sat, tail thumping once against the stone before he caught himself, right, court game, not squirrel chase. His eyes were wide, reflecting the story like it had just leapt to life in front of him.

“Okay, okay, hear me out,” he blurted, words tumbling over each other anyway. “What if the rumor says the cat only shows up when someone’s already halfway to doing something reckless?”

He leaned forward, bell giving a faint jingle as he gestured with one paw.
“Like... you think you’re just pacing, or sneaking out, or staring at the wall too long, and then suddenly... boom! It’s there. Not pulling you. Not pushing you. Just… walking with you until you realize you’ve already decided.”

Smokey’s grin crept in, bright and a little feral with excitement.
“And when you finally notice? That’s when the warm pawprints fade. Because the cat doesn’t need to lead anymore.”

He glanced between Laetitia and Ahryndae, eyes shining.
“Means the path was always yours. The half-sun cat just hates being credited.”

Grace is effortless when born into it.

◇─✧─💎─✧─◇

The dainty duchess listened intently as the two wove their connections to the rumor that Smokey had threaded. She didn't react much, but the glimmering in her delicate green gaze and a slight swishing of her tail displayed interest at the least. 

Until... the words came spilling out, Smokey's and then her own. "Bravo! Exquise!" She purred, her voice rising an octave but staying nearly deceptively poised, as if the performance was never truly over. And in a way, if she thought deeply enough about it, I may never be finished. Unless there was something to do about it, however the game was much more fascinating. 

"I hear that la half-sun cat does not lead or guide, simply ushers the other into the realization that their destiny awaited them. Closer than it would seem." she quipped, a fleeting grin casting light onto her face as Laetitia continued with her side of the rumor. "Cepardant! The cats chosen do not wonder upon him fortuitously! They actually-" he voice was cut off in a quick snap when she heard the servants bellow her name, followed by the scent of a healthy evening dish catered to herself. They do a fine job of what they are required, she thought to herself with a quiet hum.

She rose onto her dainty paws with effortless grace, slipping from the stone with even more so. Her ears rose as she turned her gaze to her guest. "As our guest, would you wish to join us for a feast Princesse Ahryndae? It would be to the pleasure of the Noon." she suggested, a welcoming smile teased to the corners of her lips as her paws moved toward her manor, her home. "I would think Smokey should make his apparence to dine as well. Oui?" A triangular head turned to Smokey, eyes filled with an invitation that seemed muffled, as if coated in fabric with the need to uncover it. Expectently.

Heir to the Black Prince

⤟ ♢ ✦ ♢ ⭒ ♕ ⭒ ♢ ✦ ♢ ⤠

Ahryndae rose as Laetitia did, though where the duchess moved with practiced elegance, Ahryndae's motion carried the smooth inevitability of a predator long accustomed to authority. Sunlight slid along her dark pelt as she stepped down from the stone, the faintest stretch rolling through her shoulders.

"I find the terms agreeable. I shall speak to your noble brother then." Ahryndae said calmly. "Hospitality offered in good faith is not something the House of Noon should ever doubt will be returned in kind." A pause, and then, with a trace of dry amusement. "And I would be remiss to refuse such an invitation when rumors have already made such pleasant company of us."

She inclined her head, regal without exaggeration. "I will join you." Her golden eyes shifted to Smokey. "And yes. Your steward should dine as well." None would serve well on an empty stomach.

With that she turned toward the manor alongside Laetitia perfectly at ease.