Page 150: Other Diplomacy
Other Diplomacy
Summary: Anais seeks out Kathryna for details about her…banishment.
Date: 12/12/2011
Related Logs: Stuff and such
Anais Kathryna 
Rockcliff Inn — Terrick's Roost
IC Date

Timing is everything, and just as Nares leaves on some sort of task or another, Kate is left alone to drink away her diplomatic fuck ups in peace. She's not totally in her cups, but she's certainly partially there, or perhaps that glassiness in her eyes is the lingering effects of the concussion she's suffering from the fight the day before. Either way, she's in a side table against the wall at the inn, straddling a chair and drinking deep of ale, a large pitcher of the stuff on the table before her.

Anais, as always, is trailed by a guard - two at this time of night - and a handmaid, though she's certainly moving more purposefully than she usually does. She rises up on her toes, searching, but it's the guard who brushes a hand at her sleeve, directing her toward Kathryna with a nod. "Lady Harlaw," she says as she draws closer to the table, pausing to lean down and take a closer look at the woman. "Lady Harlaw?" she repeats, less certain this time.

Kathryna blinks free of whatever thoughts had taken her now, semi trying to shake her head clear but that just makes the room spin. She mutters a few very quiet curses, but tries not to offend Anais' ears too much. She pushes herself up out of the chair, motions fairly solid and grounded as she tries to make herself look more steady than she feels. She bows her head respectfully to Anais. "Aye… Lady Anais… it is good to see you. Forgive my lack of saying farewell when I left. I suspect your mother in marriage would have been… Unhappy if I loitered."

"Oh, good grief, sit down," Anais urges quickly, stepping forward to press a hand to Kathryna's shoulder before she can rise. "Please. You look like you might fall down." She sighs at the other woman's words, reaching up to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear and drawing a chair closer. "I heard something had happened." There's a brief pause as she settles into her chair, then looks to the other woman with an arch of her brow. "I did warn you."

Kathryna looks over to the woman, rolling her eyes just am oment, but sitting down does sound like a good idea. Kate straddles her chair once more, folding her arm across the back of it and trying to relax despite that lingering pain in the back of her head. "Aye, you did… And I understand certain things, but… Asking that I cease sparring? She knows not what she asks… I'd put on a fuc-… a… bloody dress, if she insisted. I was as polite as I know how to be. But I shall not let my body and my hands rust like an unused sword while in these lands. If I did, I'd never be able to go -home-…"

"Mmm. And not very appropriate of her, handing down dictates to someone who isn't a member of her household," Anais agrees, folding her hands on the table as she watches the other woman. "Though what I heard in the tower was that she'd forbidden the household knights from sparring with you, which /is/ within her purview. Is that how it went?"

Kathryna smirks slightly, "She said if I did not stop sparring openly with men then I was no longer welcome under her roof, and that she had perview over the house… So I was thrown out. Because, while I don't care what choice the knights make, there will be a man who is always up for a spar, and I will be taking that challenge when ever it is presented. It is how one keeps sharp. It's how one keeps alive." Kate doesn't actually seem quite so drunk as she first appeared, her head probably more addled than anything and her temper up.

Anais presses her lips together, tilting her head slightly. "That…seems to me a bit presumptuous of the lady," she says slowly. "So long as you're sparring appropriately, without doing unnecessary damage to anyone, there's no reason to stop you. Forbid her own men from taking part, certainly. But you can't /command/ a diplomatic envoy." There's a faint curl of her lip, a glimmer of irritation in her features. "I'll speak with Jacsen," she says after a moment, shaking her head.

Kathryna smirks a bit deeper to those words, drowning her lips a heartbeat later behind some ale. It's keeping her temper from flaring up too badly, though she is actually calming a hint more as Anais seems to see her side of it — maybe shockingly so. Once she finishes her most recent mug of ale she sighs, "Aye, that is rather how I felt. And before I ever even got to truly speak with your father in law or your husband. If I was not so loyal to my cause here… and a bit more proud, I should just attend home. But I've not come all this way to let a petty old bit-… bitty… stop talks."

"Mmmm," Anais hums, tapping a finger on the table. "In her defense," and oh, how little she wants to say it, "It seems to me that Terrick's Roost and the Riverlands in general have had very few dealings with people who are different from them in any way. I suspect Lady Evangeline has never had to look at things from someone else's point of view."

Kathryna stares at Anais, perhaps only now catching onto the fact that Anais might not actually LIKE Evangeline. Gasp! She tilts her head slightly, her smirk falling into just a hint of an amsued smile, but she's trying to hide most of it. "…Aye, you are most likely right. It still does not mean that they will never have to do so. There is a larger world out there than the Roost. But… what's done is done. I shall linger here a few days and then perhaps I shall just go. It seems the Camdens are far more interested in trade than you all are."

"Oh, yes." Anais twists a faint smile of her own, a dry expression. "I'm sure Lord Jerold will be thrilled to hear that the Camdens have attracted the interest of the Ironborn, in order to trade wood with them, with which they can build ships." She props her chin up on the heel of one hand, watching the other woman. "Rest here a few days," she suggests. "Get your feet back under yourself. Don't let your feelings for the now-absent Lord Dafydd get in the way of your mission. And I'll speak with Jacsen or Lord Jerold, as necessary."

Kathryna's expression grows a touch cold as Anais brings Dafydd into this matter. It's not really protective of him, but somewhat insulted to herself. "…Trust me, Lady Anais..if my feelings for Dafydd were in the way of my mission, I would already be gone. But I've stayed behind. I've told him I do not know when or if we shall meet again and I meant it. I came here to talk to Terricks, not Camdens. I could have followed them off on horse and made an entirely new agenda, but I did not. Now, however, I begin to wonder if the Terricks have any care to talk at all…" She shakes her head slightly, ice in her still slightly glassy eyes.

"They're understandably wary of an ambassador from the Iron Isles," Anais agrees blandly, still watching. "Given their last interaction with one involved an attack on a young woman and a forced duel. But I'm afraid the issue of speaking with you has less to do with you and more to do with other events that have occupied both time and minds. It's an unfortunate convergence of events." She pauses, then squints a bit. "Although, to be fair, I get the sense that Lady Evangeline is just Lady Evangeline, but there's no changing that any more than the weather."

Kathryna shrugs, just slightly, looking skeptical still. "Mayhaps. I shall linger a few days and we will see what happens. I understand being kept waiting, and I have managed to keep busy and not impatient… but with hospitality having been retracted… I do wonder if this is a lost cause." She sighs, sinking forward a touch more in her chair, letting the ale at least coax her to some level of relaxation.

Anais snort softly. "I'm still in doubt that Lady Evangeline is within her rights to withdraw guest-right over the way you /dress/. Honestly, for someone who prides herself on her manners…" She trails off with a rude noise, moving to stand. "I'll speak with Jacsen," she says once more. "In the mean time, I think perhaps you might be best suited to rest and recover."

"I am doing that, Lady Anais… I assure you my head will not permit me to do much else. But…" Kate sighs quietly, "It was not over the way I dress. It was directly over my sparring with men. I can change the way I dress and… though I suspect I'd hate it, if her eyes and sensibilities are so damn delicate, I would. I will not stop something that comes so natural and necessary to me as breathing. That is where our divide comes. And no, you are right, she is not in her rights to command me to stop doing such. I suppose she is in her rights to control the household… but I will wait until you tell me differently."

"Thank you." Anais pushes the chair in carefully, letting out a soft sigh. "For what it's worth, Lady Harlaw, I am sorry you were treated so. I will do my best to see it corrected. I should get back to the keep, though," she grimaces. "Else I'll be too busy being lectured to speak with anyone."

Kathryna tilts her head, frowning a bit more. "Lectured? You're a grown damn woman, Anais. If you want to stay… Stay. There is plenty of ale and plenty of night ahead of us. Consider it repairing relations with a severely insulted diplomatic envoy, if you must. Use whatever excuse you need, but don't let that old vulture cow you into scampering back home. I know you have fire in that heart of yours. Sit down and drink some ale to quell it before it eats you alive one of these days!" And with that, Kate refills her mug from the big urn on the table and slides it forward in Anais' direction.

Anais's lips quirk, a sharper curve to her smile. "I could do that," she agrees. "Or I could go and speak with my husband about how inappropriately his mother acted toward a diplomatic envoy, and see her ridiculous ruling overturned. The drink would be nice now, but the other will give me more in the long run." There's a pause, and she laughs. "Including a good deal more satisfaction."

Kathryna tilts her head, studying Anais' features to ensure she's being honest with herself. "…You are certain then? The offer remains open. If not for this night, then another. You may be a Banefort but I brook no argument with you. In fact, of the Terricks, your company has been some of the most tolerable and interesting." Kate seems dead serious about that, in truth, her ice eyes never leaving Anais. Promising a world of more freedoms and more respect…

"I'm certain, Lady Harlaw," Anais assures, her chin rising ever so slightly. "Believe me, I am not going to end beneath her heel. Or anyone else's." She reaches a hand for the other woman's shoulder, her touch light. "Get some rest. I'll take care of this."

Kathryna bows her head quietly, though she doesn't stand again. It's safer in the chair right now. "…very well then, Lady Anais. You know where to find me." She gives the woman a casual sort of salute, then reaches over to grab her ale once more. It's poured, she might as well finish it!