[b][h3][color=ABABAE]Rhy̢thmia L̛ap̢şe҉u͘s[/color][/h3][/b]
[i]Afternoon & Evening, Harrow's Tower Garden[/i][hr][right][sup][i]Collab with [@stone][/i][/sup][/right]
After the sisters settled into their room and Melodia expressed her interest in heading to the library, Rhythmia simply nodded and trusted that she would be alright between the Brothers in the tower and their own servants flitting about. Though most of them would be staying off site, there were a few that remained and explored the area. Vati, one of their most trusted personal guards, remained behind with Rhythmia though he didn’t look very happy about it. Both he and Rhythmia agreed that the other Lapesus Lord probably wanted to read in peace, so Vati didn’t put up much of a fight when Melodia waved him off, but the sour expression on his face remained.

Rhythmia laid down on one of the room’s two beds and closed her eyes, intending to lay there for the rest of the night. It was nearly fifteen minutes of listening to Vati huff, pace, and try and find something to do in the small space before Rhythmia sighed and cracked an eye open, tilting her head slightly to look at him. 

[color=ABABAE][b]“...Vati.”[/b][/color]

[color=forestgreen]“Oh! Uh, yes, Lady Rhythmia?”[/color] Vati paused in the middle of his restless walking, blinking at her.

[color=ABABAE][b]“...get some air. It’s not every day you get to see places like this. Go do something.”[/b][/color]

The young man looked a little torn, wondering whether he should stay and uphold his duty to protect the Lapeus twins (though one was currently away) or take Rhythmia up on her suggestion. After a moment his shoulders drooped slightly and he gave a little smile.

[color=forestgreen]“...sure.”[/color] He gathered a few things and exchanged a brief goodbye with the room’s other occupant before shutting the door behind him. Rhythmia sighed again and turned over, trying to sleep the afternoon away. Her rest was spotty, she woke up every now and then and couldn’t fall deeply asleep. She supposed it [i]was[/i] still the middle of the day, not really the best time to catch up on sleep. Still, she had no desire to explore the ground at the moment...

The coming and going of people throughout the residency level of Harrow’s Tower didn’t particularly bother Rhythmia, but something was slowly getting to her. An itchy, unpleasant feeling that gradually grew the longer she laid there while listening to people talk as they roamed the hall outside. With every back and forth of words and pass of footsteps, the unnamed feeling grew. At first, Rhythmia ignored it even as it scratched at her consciousness. Then, she tried to identify it. It had been a truly long time since she’d felt this way, so realizing what she was feeling took a bit longer than she would have liked.

Uselessness.

While her sister and her trusted guard were off learning, maybe making connections both good and bad, she was sequestered in her room. Rhythmia had no shortage of responsibilities back in Lapseus territory, whether it was assisting in governing affairs or “on the job.” Here, however, she was little more than protection and a second opinion. She took no issue with this fact, but it still made the grating feeling of “uselessness” arise.

Well, time to find something to do then.

The second Lapseus Lord made her way out of the room and the Tower as night fell. She roamed the grounds, avoiding all people she came across until eventually she arrived at the well kept garden area. The garden was beautiful- some plants carried a strong bioluminescence, bathing the garden in ethereal light. Rhythmia let herself enjoy it for a few moments - simply standing in the center and staring quietly at the flowers.

Minutes later it clicked in her mind that perhaps some of these plants might be useful for something other than pleasing the eye. Slowly, almost robotically, the deceptively young looking woman approached the nearest bunch of flowers and reached her flesh hand in to grasp one at the root.

[color=d8cfbe]“The Brothers won’t like that. They’ve already had to deal with the Immolis kids using the plants for dramatic effect.”[/color]

It was Alexander Reason, alone. He was still dressed in the horribly clashing outfit- suit, cape, and a top hat. The sound of his voice gave Rhythmia pause, though she didn’t turn around immediately. Her hand hovered on the base of the plant for what seemed like an achingly long time before she finally turned her head slightly to look over her shoulder at the young man.

It had been a while since she’d met any of the other house lords or heirs face to face - in public they tended to avoid her as much as she avoided them. Still, even more unexpected was not that the young Reason had approached her, but that he was without his fiancee or any type of guide. If she recalled correctly, this heir was blind. The woman’s eyes searched the garden seeking anyone who might have accompanied him, but finding no one. [i]Ah.[/i] She sympathized with Alexander somewhat. In her youth she’d been blinded before replacing her damaged eye, it wasn’t a good experience but then again, Alexander had been born that way so perhaps he was more used to it.

Rhythmia did not voice any of these thoughts, of course.

Instead she studied the man quietly, enough time to make most fidget, before asking, [color=ABABAE][b]“...dramatic effect...?”[/b][/color]

[color=d8cfbe]“Whew. You talked. I was worried that I was just talking to the air again.”[/color] Reason laughed. [color=d8cfbe]“Yeah, dramatic effect. The kids were arguing and smashing flowers underfoot, burning them, and even freezing them. Definitely trying to show their angst and pain through displays of magic. Didn’t see it myself, obviously.”[/color] He shrugged.

[i]What a waste,[/i] the white-haired lord thought. Ripped apart for no reason was surely a sad fate for any living thing. When she and her sister ripped things apart, piece by piece or limb from limb, there was always something to gain from it. 

She turned to fully face Reason, letting her hand return to her side for now. Even blind, the man would be able to tell that Rhythmia wasn’t taking any particular joy in his humor at the moment. She stared at him hard, though it wasn’t a malicious look - she was simply trying to recall the name of Reina’s daughter who usually accompanied the masked Reason. House Young was so close with Lapseus too… oh, that was it.

[color=ABABAE][b]“Christina?”[/b][/color] a simple question as to the whereabouts of the tech heir. 

[color=d8cfbe]“Ah, Tina? She’s off doing who-knows-what. Left me alone in our room, and I couldn’t really sleep, so I decided to take a walk. Get some air.”[/color]

Not even an acknowledging hum left Rhythmia’s mouth after Reason answered. She supposed the flower-scented air of a garden such as this would be nice even if one couldn’t appreciate the colors or arrangement of the plants. Rhythmia kept a puzzled look on Alexander for a few more moments before she turned away again, keeping half of her attention on the man and the other half returning to her original task. The Brothers that tended to the Tower didn’t concern her much. She plucked the most unfamiliar looking flower within reach, holding it tenderly as she examined it.

[color=ABABAE][b]“Don’t have flowers like this... in Lapseus,”[/b][/color] she murmured. House Young was a strong ally of her own house, and this man would be marrying into it. It might be best to try and get along for now, especially before such an important gathering. [color=ABABAE][b]“Swamps, and dry fields.”[/b][/color]

[color=d8cfbe]“Lapse- Ohhh... You must be Rhythmia Lapseus. That explains the- never mind. Yeah, the Harrow’s Garden is very unique. Everything here just [i]bursts[/i] with life.”[/color] He smiled. [color=d8cfbe]“I’m sure the Brothers won’t mind if you pick that flower; they’ve got plenty to spare.”[/color]

[i]Explains the what?[/i] she wanted to ask. Instead she quirked her brow slightly.

[color=ABABAE][b]“You knew I picked the flower... but not who I was?”[/b][/color] This amused her somewhat, and she hoped her identity revealed didn’t chase Reason away before she learned how that was possible.

[color=d8cfbe]“Life, Miss Lapseus. You seem to be missing some of it in key areas. You also disconnected some life from the rest of life all around us.”[/color] Reason gathered his cape behind him and sat down. [color=d8cfbe]"That’s all I can really sense, though. Just life surrounding me. It’s a beautiful symphony of energy. Rather like a crowd, but much, much more lethargic.”[/color]

‘Key areas’ indeed. His comment had Rhythmia glancing briefly down at her mechanical body parts, though she wasn’t sure that was exactly what he meant. Over the decades she’d learned that men, especially those of the South, whether they were kind or not, loved to speak poetically even when the situation didn’t call for it. Still, if he was being literal, it might explain his earlier words. 

[color=ABABAE][b]“Interesting,”[/b][/color] that was all Rhythmia could think to say. Like the flowers, she had an inkling of an idea to bring Reason back with her to study. She wondered if Melodia, with her closeness to the Young lord and Alexander’s soon to be mother-in-law, knew about his strange ‘life sense,’ or if it was something common among the blind. Interesting, yes.

Something caught her attention, at the very edge of her vision. Someone was entering the garden- Lord Jevin Pachel, with a red-haired woman she didn’t recognize. Lord Pachel didn’t notice Rhythmia or Reason as he entered, his attention fixated on his partner.

[color=d8cfbe]“Who just came in?”[/color] asked Reason.

[color=ABABAE][b]“Pachel,”[/b][/color] she supplied, her voice a quiet tone as always. Since she didn’t know the woman he was with, she didn’t mention her. Rhythmia looked over at them to get a better look though she didn’t move. 

[color=d8cfbe]“Just Pachel?”[/color]

[color=ABABAE][b]“...woman, red head.”[/b][/color]

[color=d8cfbe]“...Redhead? What’s she wearing?”[/color]

[i]Why does it matter?[/i] Rhythmia thought, letting a sigh escape through her nose before she answered, [color=ABABAE][b]“black, gold buttons. Pachel house crest.”[/b][/color]

The blind heir cackled softly. [color=d8cfbe]“Knew it. He’s cheating on Alana. There were rumors that he was seeing another woman, but to think that she’d be a Northerner. I’ll have to pester Miss Dalris about this later. It explains why his views have been shifting these past few months.”[/color]

Simple adultery, how fascinating. Rhythmia rolled her eyes, letting Reason plot how he would let the news slip. She turns back to the flower bed, plucking a few more of different kinds. She glanced back over at Lord Pachel and his apparent mistress, wondering if it really was the reason his stance was beginning to change. If it was, well not that it was any of her business, but it would be a silly one. Listening to a single person over the heads of the three Northern houses, who’d been telling those in the South about their worsening conditions? Idiotic, maybe even a little shameful.

She left the two mageborn in the garden with a bundle of flowers clutched tightly in her hand.