Catori averted her gaze once he looked over, instead digging through on of the pouches on her belt and pulling out a small metal bell. She let the suns beams catch on it, flashing, in an attempt to draw the magpie over. She liked birds, and new they were smart creatures.
The magpie soared over, deliberately cuffing Damian on the head with its leg in the process. ”She knows what she’s doing!” The magpie squawked at Damian accusingly before landing at Catori’s feet. The prince had a few choice words that were extremely improper that he’d like to call the magpie, but for the sake of not looking insane he kept his mouth shut.
Victor held up his hands, grinning. "Anything. I'm clueless. What do princesses like?"
It seemed everyone was here((If anyone else joins, let's pretend they were there)). Pine bowed mockingly. "Ah, brothers. How goes it? It seems our father the king has discharged us against our will, or at least against mine, and now we must bid each other farewell. The…best of luck to each of you. Especially you, Damian…I myself will be remaining nearby, in the hopes of seizing the city of Anule. It may be some help to all of us if everyone would tell where they will be going." He didn't like speaking so formally, it seemed pointless and shallow to him, but since Victor felt the same he talked like that whenever he was around.
She muffled her laughter with a fist as she crouched down, offering the bell to the magpie. "Hello, do you have a name I can call you by?" This was already more interesting than she had anticipated, which was a pleasant surprise.
"Well, I'm quite different than a lot of the princess here I bet, but just in general…we like it when you actually treat us like human beings," Alexia said, shrugging a little "I don't know about the others but I'm not too fond of people who lie, and I don't like fire…or heat in general…cold temperatures are my favorite."
“I appreciate your support dear brother.” Damian’s eyes narrowed coldly at Pine. “But I do believe you should keep your luck to yourself. It would only be fair for you to have it since you lack actual skill.” He sneered, crossing his arms. “As for me, I will be heading south to—“ The prince cut himself off sharply as the magpie started chirping, getting distracted by the other voice.
”Call me Copper!” The magpie took the bell into its beak, flapping its shiny wings several times.
“Copper? But you don’t even—“ Damian bit back the rest of his response, trying to not convey his embarrassment. He cleared his throat, trying to play off the incident. “As I was saying, I will be seizing Sana to the south of here.”
Lotus was now incredibly confused as to what was happening. She wasn't wrapped up in a discussion, and the prince's words seemed to make little sense. Her mind quickly began to fit the puzzle together, but their were still quite a few missing pieces, such as to why she was there or any of the other ladies were there. However it seems the princes had been issued a task, and part of it was claiming a subkingdom.
"Nice to meet you, Copper." She smiled at the bird, glad she at least knew /someone/ around here now. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other around."
“Wait, you can understand her?” Damian dropped his fancy royal act for a moment, genuinely confused as he looked at Catori. “The bird. You can understand the bird?” This could be both a massive advantage and disadvantage for him if Catori choose to stay with him. One the one hand, it would make it impossible to use his usual method of birds to spy on her. But on the other hand, not having someone look at him like he was insane every five minutes would also be ideal.
"Hm?" She looked up, a bit startled at being addressed. "Oh, yes, actually."
Damian allowed himself one more moment of surprise. He knew opportunity when he saw it, and this princess certainly had potential. He cleared his throat again, leaving Pine in the dust to go introduce himself. “Prince Damian Marcuse, at your service.” He bowed slightly before standing up again. He grabbed the bracelets out of his satchel. “I apologise for my tardiness upon your arrival, I was at the marketplace looking for a welcoming gift, and I lost track of time.” He smiled warmly at her, offering her the bracelets. “There is one for each of you, but you may have first pick.”
The prince hoped he sounded more sincere than he actually was. Marrying someone he just met in under six months? No thank you. But if it meant ruling the whole kingdom then he was willing.
Shiny!” Copper squawked, flying up to Damian’s wrist, trying to steal the bracelets. The prince attempted to shake the bird off in annoyance.
Catori choked on a laugh at the bird, and tried to pass it off as a cough. "You really didn't have to." She almost turned him down, and then stopped herself, figuring that might be rude. "Are you sure?"
“I assure you I am completely certain.” Damian raised an eyebrow when he saw Catori stifle her laughter, a wry smile playing on his lips. “Would you mind sharing your name with me?” He asked politely, looking over his shoulder quickly to glare sharply at Pine. Who needs luck now? He couldn’t help the satisfaction he felt, although the tiny magpie talons piercing his arm certainly helped.
Catori noticed the glare he sent his brother, a look of slight understanding passing her face before it was gone. "Catori. Catori Hallowe. A pleasure to meet you." She could only hope her name wouldn't have reached a prince's ears.
“A pleasure indeed.” Damian winced as Copper’s talons had started to draw a little blood. “I mean no offense, but could you perhaps select a bracelet slightly faster? Copper may begin to peck soon, and I find from experience that it is unpleasant.”
"Oh, yes, sorry." She reached out and took the red one, and turned her attention to Copper. "Be nice, Copper. I have more shiny objects than he does."
Damian put the other bracelets back in his satchel, allowing Copper to waddle onto his shoulder. “Can you speak to all animals, or just birds?” Damian’s regular voice, went he was out of Prince ModeTM was quiet and soft. He genuinely liked Catori, as a friend at least. But he was curious as to the nature of her appearance.
”Fine.” Copper seemed disappointed as she loosened her painful grip on Damian.
"Just birds. I get along well with other animals, though." She pulled out the loaf of bread she had bought earlier and tore off a piece, offering it to Copper with a soft smile.
Copper flew from Damian’s shoulder to Catori’s arm, perching carefully and nibbling on her bread. ”I like this one.” She cawed, being careful not to harm Catori.
Damian scowled at the magpie, but left the bird alone. “I suppose you’re here to speak with my father and such. It’s been a pleasure meeting you. Please, also take Copper as a gift. Please.” The Prince wasn’t really teasing as much as he was desperately trying to rid himself of the rude lump of feathers that Catori seemed fond of.
Catori let out an actual laugh, not bothering to hide it. "I think it's more up to her where she goes, but I'd be glad to have her company." She curtsied as well as she could without upsetting Copper, smiling brightly at Damian before heading up the steps. She waved at him as she headed into the palace.
Damian waved back and retreated back to Jasper, who was feeding Quintus a few carrots. Talking to princesses was stressful, and Damian felt as though he made a fool of himself several times in that conversation. Once he got to Sana he couldn’t afford to make mistakes. Just six months of doing everything right. The weight of that had begun to settle onto Damian’s shoulders, but he was still determined to win.
Lotus was making mental notes as she stood back and listened to the others. Horse prince and princess who looks like a guy and she would really rather look like that but she can't seemed to get along. A bird also seemed to have been involved? And a bracelet? Ice princess and another prince seemed to be hitting it off, though it seemed to be more of a cry for help. And then there was the loner prince who was apparently too good for everyone.
“My Lord?” Jasper piped up, drawing Damian’s attention. The prince looked over at him curiously. “Another one of the princesses appears to be alone.” The boy gestured to Lotus, causing Damian to get back up.
“Thank you, Jasper.” The prince took a deep breath, heading in Lotus’s direction.
Lotus noticed horse prince making his way towards her. She still had no clue why she was there, but maybe she could glean the information from this prince. She wished she had a mirror to check her illusion, but her memory would simply have to do.
Pine's eyes flashed as he noticed Damian approaching another princess. He couldn't stand alone in his own courtyard like a tree in a storm, he would have to stop him. He smoothed his expression before walking as quickly as was casual over to the lone princess. "Who might you be?"