did my invitations disappear?

Wake up thread+ @Aleksei

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Ah…

The sky in her effortless, glorious blue. With waves of wispy clouds that circled like foam in a freshly poured cup of coffee. Her mind’s eye spun it with a spoon and watched as it swirled in endless spirals. A playful giggle or two, a child stuck in limbo.
A dreamy sleep still stuck in her head, still dripping from her ears it seemed. Lost in the trance of teleportation,

or perhaps it was transmutation.

For she did feel.. different? All limbs still twitched when she willed it, tail and ears wiggling at her whim. Yet something was off, something strange and delightfully twisted.

It took a few conscious blinks for her to realize she was awake and not still in her slumber. The world and all its worries soon racing back to catch up to her, hitting her like a ton of bricks. The child fled at the sight of stress, though the queen would persist. At least, whatever of her still remained.

The young woman gave a slow rise, each paw slowly bracing underneath herself until she stood tall and noble. Her eyes would survey the land after a moment of gathering herself, where they widened at the unfamiliar scenery.
No mountain crest looked like home, and every scent was an adulterated form of home. It wasn’t right, was she lost? How did she come about being so gone?

A look of worry would take over her expression without her knowledge as she padded deeper into the woods, seeking something of home. Any sign that she wasn’t so entirely displaced.

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He had been waiting for her. He had appeared here not long ago, asleep in a tree of all places. He didn't know why and frankly, he hadn't much cared. All he cared about just then was his ass. Why? Well, because his ass, as nice as it was, was in great danger. Why? Because if he didn't find Queen Kitty, he would be skinned alive and made into her throw rug by the King himself.

Aleksei did not want to become a throw rug; not for the King, the Queen, his mother. Not for anyone. So, after finding his ungainly way down from the tree, the Royal's Knight went about looking for his charge, annoyed that he had to do so at all. Ekaterina was so frustrating, though he would never reveal such feelings to her. In the Queen's presence, the ginger knight was cool and collected, flirtatious (when wasn't he, though?) and smooth, if very slightly goofy. It wasn't that he tried to get under her skin, but it was fun when he did. For him, at least.

Ah. Her scent. Aleksei veered to follow it, grumbling inwardly as he stepped into the forest after her, noting the prominent scent of elk. “Kat!” He would call her name as he spotted that ass of hers, grinning slightly as he enjoyed the view. He would quicken his pace though, before she turned around so as not to catch him looking. “There you are, little lady. What are you doing out here?”

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Her head on a swivel spun, eyes wide and wondering- slightly afraid. To analyze the source of the voice just behind her in the small clearing. For just a fleeting moment, she thought to run to him. So glad she wasn't alone in all this, perhaps she wasn't as lost as she thought she was. Yet the face that greeted her was one of Aleksei's, so her expression couldn't help but twist into something more cold and soured.

"Aleksei."
She certainly said his name with much less enthusiasm.
"Little lady? I beg your pardon, that is Queen to you."
Ah yes, who would she be if not for her bitchy antics. The sass in her voice was as prominent as ever.

She did ponder his following question though, visibly with a look to the sky and wandering of her blue eyes. What was she doing? She hesitated with her response, it sounded silly as much as it was truthful.
"....I don't remember." The Queen's voice was eerie. What an unsettling feeling to not remember.

She worried what might have happened to her while she was busy not remembering. 

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Oh yeah. She was just as happy to see him as he was to see her. The two of them had an uncanny relationship, if it could even be called that; he protected her and she generally listened to him when it came to said task, even if she was not terribly keen on him. He was alright with that, as the Queen was not his favorite person either. The two of them made due, however, to the best of their abilities.“Right, right. Queen Little Lady. Beg your pardon, my liege.” The ginger winged male would bow out of mirth and mockery, the grin on his face easy and confident.

Still, it was easy enough for the man to sober up as she answered, a brief frown taking away his smile before it was quickly replaced. “At least you had the sense to stay vaguely near me.” Aleksei did not tell her that he had awoken only to find himself in a tree, of all places, nor that he did not quite remember how they had gotten here or what they were doing out here. Such information would only serve to rattle her and if he did that, the stick would go even father up her --

“Back to the royal grounds for you then. Peter'll have my head if we're gone for too long.” His larger form made to shepherd her back the way they'd come, not touching her but coraling her diminutive body so that she had no choice but to turn around. “On y' get, Your Majesty.”

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Her eyes rolled so hard they almost got lost in the back of her skull. There simply was no correcting this one, he was like a child they let in off the street that they just somehow couldn't get rid of. Nor tame. 

Yet he seemed confident. Not the usual foolish confidence he would often exude, true confidence- like he knew exactly where he was. The Queen's crystalline eyes took a sweep across the landscape, recognizing nothing familiar in these trees or in the distant smell of salt water. She wouldn't budge to his pushing, despite how his body getting so much closer caused a nervous heart to skip a beat.

"Where exactly are we, Aleksei?" Her voice was as smooth as butter but, had the hint of arrogance and "gotchya!" in the subtle undertone. It was enough that if he did know, she could play it off but, if he didn't know- it'll be set right up to bully him a little bit for having such confidence to partially lie.

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Untamable. That was him, alright. Ever since he'd been a boy, training to be a knight, he'd pushed the rules, walked along the boundaries they'd lain for him. Aleksei had never been by the book, using his own brain to assess situations and react to them accordingly. If he went by everything they had told him, he would not be nearly as useful or adaptive as he was now. In fact, in his mind, he would have made a pretty shitty knight if that were the case, and an even shittier Queensguard.

He kept the roll of his eyes contained, inward, as she dug in. Were Ekaterina his sister, lover, or even any other female, he would have nipped her on the haunch, the proverbial slap to the horse's ass to get them moving. But the ginger man stayed his impulse and looked down at her from their close proximity. “I'm not sure,” He answered just as easily, just as confidently. “I'll figure it out once we get a move on.” He'd be right as rain when he got his bearings.

She just needed to move. Aleksei took another step closer, again trying to coral and nudge her forward.

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She would snap at him, teeth intentionally missing him before she finally moved. Her head held high with dignity and pride as she walked, perhaps even with a touch of arrogance. 

"Fine." She spat as she turned away from him. Walking in the direction she believed he intended her to go, though she gazed into an unfamiliar expanse and felt an unease trickle up her spine. Something about wandering into unknown wilderness to her possible death made her nervous for some reason??? Who knows why.

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