A Beast Tamer’s Dream

Exhaling sharply, she tried again as she spoke up at the brunette. "Move." She ordered, eyes glaring into his own. The deep vastness of his blue eyes made her feel uncomfortable, as though they undoubtedly swallow her whole in a matter of moments if she weren't careful.

He stepped to the side and allowed her to pass, but she maintained eye contact as she came closer, passing by him. "My lady is doing better, but it is far from enough." He commented as she let out a small sigh. Her first step was to force Arkadios to avert his gaze from her first. How would she even do that when he made eye contact with her siblings for the most part?

"Try again." He told her, it had been well over a few hours since starting. She told herself she didn't feel him, but the pressure of his said otherwise as she failed to rival it. Was she just not doing it right? She was following the instructions he had given to her.

Calming herself, she stared up at him again. Do not break eye contact if someone challenges you. Do not be intimidated by other's exerted the same amount of pressure. Think of him as beneath her, even if it weren't true, she had to have full confidence that she could crush him like a bug in an instance.

Shaking his head, "Again." He ordered as soon as he saw her slack, up until the point she was beginning to get annoyed. It was bothersome to practice and learn, but it would pay off in due time. There was only a little bit left until the tea party, she could do this much.

Matching up with her actions, Phius's head rose neck to her ear, hissing ever so slightly at Arkadios despite previously not wanting to even go near the man. This method was a significant improvement than just trying to teach Phius to strike and stay on edge. She could add the stronger the beast tamer, the stronger the beast to her list of things a beast tamer did.

"We'll stop here for tonight, you're just abnormal," She decided she was exhausted enough, still needing to take her beasts on their walks and feed them dinner. If she looked at the maids like this, would they avoid her gaze? Maybe some of the new ones, but the head maid was likely a different story, that woman didn't even hesitate to smile when speaking to Isaac nor flinch when Nyx's spear went flying by her head.

She could feel his gaze turn from spine chilling to normal again as he followed behind her, helping her leash up some of the beasts that seemed like they wanted to scratch him since earlier while also making sure that they were all fed and doing a quick safety check that all the animals were where they needed to be. "My Lady has quite the collection." He commented, a tight hold on the leashes he was walking.

This made her quite happy to hear, she had spent quite a long time making sure everything were perfect and researching the beasts specifically for the future. "Aren't they beautiful? Phius is one of my three venomous beasts. I want to get a specific insect soon." She responded.

Whatever beast she wanted she'd write down and Isaac would get it, but she knew venomous beasts were primarily out of the question unless she begged. He'd always say she could have them when she were older, but she knew it'd only be after she started drinking poison and building an immunity to it, if Isaac ever allowed her to.

"My Lady… wants insects?" He asked, she could hear him pausing from the lack of footsteps as she turned her head around to look at him. "Yes. I hope to have all sorts of beasts, including insects." His eyes seemed to widen, he likely wasn't expecting a noblewoman to want to play with bugs.

"They're a venomous species that rips into the flesh and devours it quickly," she explained, a smile creeping up on her face just thinking about it. "The babies are cute, but the bigger ones grow as large as that tree; sadly they're endangered at the moment from people hunting too many to death." She wanted to see one in person, rather than just books. Something like that would be a great addition to her sanctuary.

She couldn't quite hear what he was mumbling to himself as he recovered. "Rather than her presence being scary, her idea of cuteness is." Arkadios started walking up and keeping up with her as they exchanged simple conversation with one another throughout the evening.

"Clear it, now." His order came out clear and crisp, throwing the piece of paper at the face of his attendant. Pulling out his pipe, he lit it and ran a hand through his hair, staring out the window of his office. For once, the second wife had been leaving him alone recently.

His work was done and he didn't intend to add anything onto it for the next few days until it were over. "But Duke…" the attendant tried to interrupt, only to be immediately shut down with a single glance. The attendant sighed, there was no way to argue with him when he was like that.

"I sometimes wonder what goes through your head," He hummed, staring at the paper. "What if there's an emergency?" He questioned, despite already knowing the answer. It was unusual for the Duke to do this, but he was happy he was having a bit of fun. When was the last time he even did something like this?

Grumbling, "Kill them." Definitely the same old Duke, no mercy given to anyone. Bowing, the attendant excused himself to fetch a carriage with a bright smile. It was worth asking his son about what he was doing and reporting it back to the Duke the past few weeks.

This was bias favoritism, he couldn't deny that. "I'm thankful I talked him out of it." He hummed to himself, remembering their previous conversation when the Duke suddenly asked about obtaining a wild animal native to a neighboring foreign country. It took a lot of prying to finally get why.