[she doesn't know that the world is turning just for her]

skill: [none]

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Euphemia didn’t see anyone; her gaze stared out in front of her, unfocused. The only thing she saw was him. He was framed by the movement of others, the dispersal of the crowd, but he didn’t move. Vidarr was stalwart, and her unfocused gaze began to center on his chest, and the fur on his chest, and she noticed how thick his northern coat was, and how each hair fell somewhere different on the scale of pale grey to dark slate. Shadows caressed the curve of his breastbone, and the shadows became shallower as he breathed.

It was almost meditative, to look at something so closely and so minutely. It calmed her, and she allowed herself to at least be steered away from the dispersing pack. Then Vidarr spoke – thank god he was filling the air with words, which meant that she didn’t have to – and she sat as an empty vessel, being filled with his words. They were complimentary, but Euphemia still felt hollow.

Sure, she was brave, but not brave enough to be the Pillar of Courage – that’s what she thought as he oh-so-gently nudged her muzzle upwards, daring her to not look so forlorn. For a moment, Euphemia remarked on the fact that it was Vidarr at her side, who was quite possibly the last soul she wanted to see in the moment, at what currently felt like the lousiest, lowest moment of her life. It should be one of her sisters, maybe Dalmatia, someone she could just melt into and experience her fullest sorrows.

But instead, the silvered maiden allowed her visage to be guided upwards, and she delighted in the slightest touch he proffered, even if it was set against a backdrop of regret.

Finally, she sighed, unsure what to say but knowing that she needed to say something. I thought it was something Genghis would want, but… her jaw tightened into a grimace, used perhaps ironically. Perhaps not. Either way, Euphemia was eager to be understood. She had volunteered herself not because she thought herself some great warrior or politician – she simply felt it was her duty to her family.

I honestly thought no one was going to volunteer, so I did. If I knew Nottin was going to run too…

If she had known, she wouldn’t have put her name forth. For all the reasons that Vidarr was skillfully insinuating. She didn’t train hard enough, didn’t fulfill the needs of the role enough. Nottin clearly was better than her, and the votes he secured had been hard-fought for. Hers had been born to her. It smarted, understanding the clear undertone of what Vidarr was saying. Those meant to lead trained for it all their life –

and that was not Euphemia.

Euphemia sighed, briefly glancing around Vidarr to look at the now-empty meeting space. He mentioned mother and father, and she felt it was such a cursory compliment. They would have been proud of her no matter what she did, most likely. Do you think Mother and Father would be proud of Aurelia? the young woman asked flatly, thinking hotly to the vote that threw the election. Many might say that Hexx’s vote tipped the boat in Nottin’s favor. Euphemia couldn’t care less about Hexx in the face of the vote Aurelia had cast.

Aurelia was her own twin. How could she?

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