Acadia (Jasper's Story)

Meeting the King

When Tivachi woke the boys up, the sun had risen only slightly in the sky, signifying that it was early morning. Felix was the first to wake up, and it took a little more coaxing to get Oliver up. Felix carefully put Oliver's cloak back on for him, carefully tucking the chain under his collar. He straightened Oliver's clothes a little, before going over to his armoire and grabbing a fresh shirt to change into.

Oliver rubbed his eyes sleepily as Felix changed, walking over to Tivachi and proceeding to have his face licked by the wolf God. "Tivachi, what're you doing...?" He asked tiredly, and Tivachi chuckled.

"Cleaning you, my dear. We're going to go see King Jun soon, and I want you to look just a little more presentable."

"He can use some water from the washbasin over there, you know." Felix told them gently, glancing at them. His lips quirked into a small smile when he saw how Oliver looked like a sleepy puppy being cleaned by its parent. Tivachi shrugged a little before continuing to clean the vampire boy.

"He's too tired. Besides, he just needs to be clean enough to get into the room. He can take a proper bath after we get him a room and he's awake."

Felix chuckled slightly, shaking his head and walking over to the washbasin. He cleaned his face and his hands, getting rid of the dirt and grime that had collected over their trip back to the castle. When he was done and turned to look at Oliver, he was a little surprised to see that Oliver did in fact look cleaner. He still had dirt covering parts of his exposed skin, but it wasn't as bad as it had been.

"Alright, let's go. King Jun is waiting for us." Tivachi hummed, smiling. "Noir said he'd go and let him know we were coming."

"Okay." Felix helped Oliver onto Tivachi's back, and led the two to the throne room, where King Jun would be. The guards there eyed Oliver wearily, but when Felix gave them a look, they kept their mouths shut on whatever they were thinking.

When they were inside the throne room, Oliver got off Tivachi's back out of respect for the king, taking a few stumbling steps forward before Felix and Tivachi helped to support him. Oliver's cheeks flared red, and he stared at the ground, clearly embarrassed to need help. He tangled a hand into Tivachi's fur, though, and Felix could only guess it was for comfort.

Felix stepped forward, bowing to King Jun. "Good morning, my King. Did you sleep well?"

"Felix! You've returned late, my boy!" The King said, standing from his throne and walking down to meet his guests halfway. He smiled and took Felix's hand, giving it a firm shake. "I heard you've made a new friend!"

Now see, King Jun was by no means intimidating. In fact, with his almost grandfatherly appearance, he was quite charming and welcoming to practically anyone who came through his castle's walls. He was a short man who liked to dress in reds and whites, and commoners clothes. The only thing that showed he was king in his outfit was the simple gold crown on his head with the turtles engraved in it, swimming around the metal in a never ending circle. The God who chose him when he had gone to the forest many years before, a bright, almost lime green turtle, rested beside his throne, a small canopy of red and black pulled back to allow it some sunlight. Noir strolled down the steps from where the turtle was, walking to Felix and leaping gracefully to his shoulders.

Felix chuckled softly and smiled, nodding as he absentmindedly reached up to pet the cat God. "Yessir. His name is Oliver, and he was chosen by one of the wolf gods from the forest." He said, motioning behind him to where Oliver stood on slightly shaky legs, being supported by Tivachi.

The King's eyes lit up, and he rushed over with a surprising swiftness to the two, taking the hand not touching Tivachi and holding it tightly before giving it a firm shake. "It is wonderful to meet you! Noir has been gracious enough to explain. You are a vampire, yes?" Oliver, who looked completely lost and even a bit scared, meekly nodded, all royal protocol from when he had been human vanishing from his mind at the sudden situation. "Then we shall make accommodations accordingly." King Jun gave him a kind smile, giving his hand a small squeeze, and moved back after dropping his hand. He looked to Tivachi, and bowed low to the ground.