[center][h1]Lord Talbert Tarly and Ser Aegor Rivers[/h1][/center]

By mid-morning, Talbert was already striding through the tourney grounds, a pair of bannermen at his back to serve as his guards for the time being. He concealed a grimace as best he could, though the bags under his eyes belied his state. Dinner with the Redwynes the previous night had resulted in him drinking far more than he would have preferred, if only to keep his hosts and potential allies happy. As a result, he was nursing a particularly onerous hangover, though Talbert powered through it as best he could and got on with business.

Said business brought him to the Bracken encampment, where he announced himself to the men-at-arms and awaited permission to be led forward. When said permission was given, Talbert strode forward, following after the guardsman who eventually led him to the tent of Bittersteel. After being let in, the lord of Horn Hill would incline his head towards his peer in a show of respect. 

"Ser Aegor." Talbert greeted, waiting to be granted leave to take a seat by his host. "I received your raven before I departed Horn Hill. Everything is in order, then?"

Despite the jovial nature of the event, the Braken encampment was ochestrated as if it were at war, men-at-arms in the prideful yellow of the house standing guard with no sense of levity throughout the microcosm of the camp. Despite this, the process of Talbert was smooth through the process, admitted with efficiency and no lack of greeting for the anticipated ally of the house.

The reception that the man recieved from Aegor himself was more muted, a careful studying of the potential ally, his intense violet eyes lifting from the missives on his desk to regard Talbert. Papers aplenty spread across Bittersteel's desk, the man standing, not sitting, behind the light wooden frame.

"Fetch Lord Talbert some water." These were the words the man first heard in greeting, as Aegor supped from his own cup, his eyes casting back down to the papers as a servant scurried to perform the task, as military in their precision as Aegor's armed men. "Matters proceed as they should, soon Daemon will be willing and able to claim what is his." He spoke in the brief windown between the servant leaving and the drink being provided, then dismissing them from the tent with a nod from his head. "Can House Tarly be relied upon?" Aegor spoke in a manner which suggested the question had as much to do with the current meeting than any grander sense, those same cold eyes boring into the man before him.


Talbert took a seat at Ser Aegor's offer of water, taking the cup when it was provided to him. He matched Bittersteel's gaze with his own, unfaltering. 

"Of course we can." He stated plainly, sipping his water. "I bring all the swords of Horn Hill and my bannermen, both of which you've campaigned alongside before. You know their quality. Between our houses, we possess some of the only battle-tested forces available in this age. So long as Blackfyre is willing to do what is necessary, he has House Tarly's support." 

Talbert studied Aegor for a moment, as if musing over his next words. When he spoke, it was quieter. 

"I bring word from others as well. House Peake is fully behind this venture, and have brought me into their alliance of Reach houses so as to influence the other two. I mean to marry my heir to a Redwyne girl, and my daughter to a Hightower to bind them into the fold. I trust this is acceptable?"

"Have a care with who we approach, matters are progressing swiftly and we must control when those against us become aware of what we are capable of." Aegor mused in reply to the Lord, his attentions still on the table before him.

He took a short, brief, sip from his own cup, before he once again matched gaze with Talbert. "But we are not in a position so strong as to turn down such aid, feel out the potential of their support, or at least, their willingness to stand aside for when Daemon acts. Of that, it can be sure to be soon, once he arrives I shall have the full measure of his wishes." It was not like Bittersteel to not be made aware of the entirety of the Blackfyre cause, yet Daemon was playing cards closer to his chest of late, it made Aegor uneasy, and yet, it would mean he was finally close to pressing his claim. It had to.

"Would there be anything else?" The final question was blunt, but with no additional sense of dismissal, simply the words of a man who did not waste time when it could be spent effectively.

Talbert waited patiently, showing no sign of offense at the abrupt bluntness of Bittersteel's last sentence. After all, he'd prefer to conduct himself in much the same way most of the time. Still...

"Nothing else of note on my end at this moment." He confirmed, taking one last sip of his water. "Your brother hasn't made the full extent of his plans known to you yet? I had been led to believe you were among his closest confidants." Talbert stated neutrally, not intending for his words to be a challenge or accusation. "Do you foresee this to become a potential problem?"

"There are matters that are not safe for ravens." Aegor's response was terse, but it was not entirely untrue, even as his attention drifted back to his missives. "When he strikes camp, we will know all."

[hider=Tl;dr:]Talbert and Bittersteel discuss DEFINITELY BEING LOYAL TO THE IRON THRONE. Yep.[/hider]