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Cetatsenia-Demoness Meeting
Topic Started: Nov 18 2013, 07:41 PM (8,330 Views)
Cetatsenia
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If one was to take a place from the nation of Demoness to Cetatsenia, one would most likely see the dichotomy that the nation was rather known for. In the southern parts of the nation one would notice the highlands, heavily forested and almost untouched by man aside from the winding roads and the occasional town. But further north, the terrain would give away to the lowlands of the Centric Basin. This land was flat, and lacked the expansive forests, though there were smaller isolated forests. But the main difference one would notice would be the level of development, it was dominated by a large amount of farmland as the lowland soil was incredibly fertile, but there was also the occasional city, bustling with people.

Albraustana-zid was one such city, and it was the primate city of Cetatsenia, the richest and most populous and most important of them all. It was built along both sides of the great Albastru River that ran through much of Cetatsenia, though most of it was on the southern bank of the river. This was because of the simple fact that Albraustana-zid had begun life as three separate forts and settlements built along the river. Albrau and Stana had been built on the Southern bank, and over time had grown together until they were finally united into Albraustana. And while Zid would eventually become part of the greater whole, for a long time it was simply considered a city separated from the capital only by the river.

Since it had grown organically over the numerous years, and had once been three separate cities, the streets and roads had a habit of being winding and could be complicated to navigate for those unfamiliar with them who had no map. Though the roads had over time been widened and revamped in order to accommodate cars, and the newest sections of the city on the outskirts actually had a gridded street plan. As it was the middle of the day, the streets were currently filled with cars and buses, and the sidewalks filled with pedestrians, while the newest addition to the city's transportation network, the subway system, ran below the streets.

While there was a number of attractions in the city, such as the museums and baths, one of the most prominent is the Palatul Regal, the Royal Palace. The site of the original settlement of Albrau and lying atop a hill, it has been torn down or otherwise destroyed and then subsequently rebuilt several times throughout history. The most recent being the ascension of Ioan I to the throne of Cetatsenia, though it has been renovated and updated since then.

The Palace itself is surrounded by a wall that rings the entirety of the hill, with only a single gate leading up to it. The wall is patrolled by a special corps of Cetatsenian soldiers, easily identified by their bright blue ceremonial uniforms and ornate, pointed helmets. After that, a road lead up to the palace proper, an expansive building with a stone exterior that shared more in common with a medieval castle than what one thinks of when they hear the word 'palace'. It was home to a fair number of servants, as well as the guardsmen, and a small number of government officials. Most of those lived out in the city, and worked in their own buildings. It was absolutely huge, and in front of it was an expansive pool of water. Overall, it was an impressive sight that could be seen from a good portion of the city.

At the moment, however, Voivode Gavril IV Suveraneshti was not at his home in the palace. Rather he was at the airport, which had been cleared of any citizens besides him, the guards arrayed with him, and those who worked there; all flights to this airport had either been delayed or rerouted to other nearby airports. Today was an important day, as this was the decided upon day of Jia Li's visit to Cetatsenia. As two nations whose relationship could be accurately described as "mutually neutral", this was a rather important meeting, and Gavril did not want to mess anything up. So he stood alongside his older sister Andreea, the Steward of Cetatsenia, in the airport, ready to head out onto the tarmac to greet the Empress as soon as her plane set down.
Edited by Cetatsenia, Apr 22 2014, 09:58 PM.
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Cetatsenia
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"Oh, not at all," Gavril said, "He's quite friendly and likes meeting new people."

As Jia Li's hand got closer, Behemoth's stare narrowed down to the hand that was approaching him. He actually began to reach out to it with one of his front legs, balancing rather precariously on his three other legs as he overextended himself to trying to reach the Empress's hand. Gavrila's hand immediately went up to support him, because if he fell his claws, while kept short and trimmed, would end up raked down her suit. It didn't do much as he just moved as close as he could and reached out to the Empress's hand again; this time he managed to put his paw on the Jia Li's hand and immediately went to sniffing it curiously.

Gavrila smiled and laughed at the great rat, as did Gavril; and even Andreea smiled. The Voivode and his sister were glad that Jia Li was interested in Behemoth, at least she wasn't disgusted by the massive rodent. By this point they could tell when someone was feigning interest and was actually disgusted by them, and to be honest the Cetatsens found it a bit insulting when people thought the pet great rats were the same as a regular old sewer rat.

As for Aurel, his posture hadn't changed when he moved from behind Gavrila to next to the door. He still kept up his professional appearance, that of a servant who was always ready to do whatever Gavrila asked of him. He did, however, look over and gave Ariana a respectful nod, as one servant to another.
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Demoness
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Ariana returned the nod and continued to guard the room.

Jia Li smiled as she rubbed Behemoth's whiskers, and then moved toward petting his head. The only true experience she had with pets had been her chitaels, who were treated more or less like large, highly independent dogs. They were affectionate with her, between nips and head butting, but she was the leader of their "pride". This smaller animal was a different interaction and she had no practice reading its body language.

"I have never seen a rat grow so large. Is this species indigenous to your country or is it something that all rats can do?" she asked curiously.
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Cetatsenia
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Behemoth was content to sit there and let the Empress pet him. He was perfectly content and had, for the most part, a calm disposition. And he wasn't really in much of a position to do much else aside sniff her hand curiously, as he was still balancing on Gavrila's shoulder. But the Cetatsens could tell he liked the Empress already; if he didn't he'd have moved across Gavrila's neck to her other shoulder.

"Yes, ze great rats are a species indigenous to ze region," Gavril said, "And you don't see zem much outside ze country as zey're not popular wiz anyone aside from rat lovers."

"Which I zink is absolutely idiotic," Gavrila chimed in, "Zey're ze best."
Edited by Cetatsenia, Nov 30 2013, 08:25 PM.
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Demoness
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Jia Li chuckled. "Try telling that to Nemesis and Aphrodite," she replied. "My chitaels back home." She looked at Gavril. "Do you have other pets?"
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Cetatsenia
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"Besides Behemoz here, we have his brozer Leviazan. And ze boz have free run of ze palace. Well most of it; places like ze kitchens are off-limits for example," he said, "And ironically Leviazan is ze larger one and hates water, while Behemoz here is ze smaller of ze two and loves to go swimming."

"I have a couple of zem as well, but zey're all back at my palace," Gavrila said, "Oh, and zose chitaels you mentioned, zey are zose big spotted cats, right?"
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Demoness
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Jia Li nodded. "Yes. They're very intelligent - smarter than dogs, actually, and very trainable. Friendly too - even wild ones are approachable." She smiled. There were rare accounts of attacks and those that were recorded could usually be traced back to endangering a kitten or another human being. Chitaels seemed to consider humans large, hairless kittens, which would explain why they were so widely regarded as guardians. "Gavril probably noticed several wandering freely around the palace, actually."
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Cetatsenia
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Gavril nodded, "I did actually, and zey were all razer friendly and well-behaved."

"Huh, I'm no expert, but zat's not what I imagine any big cat being like," Gavrila said, "Even wild great rats can be dangerous. Gnaw pieces of your body off if you let them. But ze pet ones as as lovable as can be."

Then she lifted behemoth in both hands and put his face right up to hers. "Nu este Behemoz-i așa? Nu ești doar lucrurile cele mai adorabili vreodată? she said to him, and he responded by licking her nose. She laughed, and Gavril smiled.

Then Gavrila held Behemoth out to the Empress, "Do you want to hold him?"

Before Jia Li even had a chance to answer, Gavril quickly put his hand on his cousin's arm. He lowered it until she was holding the rat to her chest, and Gavrila looked at him for those few moments with a look that said, "What are you doing?"

Then Gavril turned to Jia Li and spoke, "Perhaps zat would not be for ze best. Behemoz likes to climb and jump up peoples' chests; he likes to sit on zeir shoulders you see. And wiz new people, he tends to explore a bit as well. He also likes to play around in people's hair, and his nails can still scratch even zough we make sure to keep zem trimmed."
Edited by Cetatsenia, Dec 1 2013, 04:43 PM.
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Demoness
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"That is probably the best choice," Xel interjected. "She has allergies and sensitive skin." She frowned at him; while it was a true statement, his constant fussing over her occasionally got on her nerves. His delicate treatment of her, however warranted, tended to make her feel trapped.

She smiled at Gavril again. "So are the wild ones as large as Behemoth?" she asked.
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Cetatsenia
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Gavril was going to ignore Jia Li's reaction to her husband's response, he didn't view it as any of his business and Jia Li didn't actually say anything about it to him. And Gavril didn't want to inflame the issue, deciding it best to just let the issue drop and to answer the Empress's question.

Gavrila, on the other hand, did not. "I zink your wife can make decisions on her own," she said in a mildly irritated tone. Gavrila had no way of knowing that Xel's overprotectiveness was a way in which he expressed his love for his wife, and it seemed more to her that he was trying to make decisions for her. This was something she had issues with, as her ex-husband had tried to do it with her; needless to say that never worked out well.
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Demoness
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Xel raised an eyebrow as he reticently replied, "She can."
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