2687/Deep Sea Talks

Deep Sea Talks
Date of Scene:	30 July 2020
Location:	Royal Chambers
Synopsis:	Namor and Lorna have wine and look out the window.
Cast of Characters:	Namor, Lorna Dane

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Namor has posed:
The signing of the papers that solidified the alliance between Atlantis and Genosha was, by all accounts, a success. The King showed up, was reasonably friendly to the Queen and her staff with only a handful of threatened diplomatic incidents to spice the proceedings up, and promptly agreed to take an airborne tour of the island. Not that there was much to see besides devastation, of course. The mutant nation was still recovering from a series of attacks that left their economy and workforce crippled. By the end, Namor and Lorna made their way to her temporary residence to resume less formal talks, but upon discovery that the Queen was currently functioning out of a prefab with folding chairs, the Atlantean King insisted on returning to his Palace. Fully willing to take the Queen in tow and swim back to Atlantis on the back of a whale, he eventually relented and allowed her personal Guard to open a portal into his Palace. A few minutes of preparation later, and King Namor lead Queen Lorna through and into his fully drained and dried royal chambers.

A few more minutes, and they were both nursing a glass of wine while reclining on a matched pair of restored antiques that were likely lost to one famous shipwreck or another. "I am merely saying that the appearance of power is nearly as important as the real thing," Namor informs Lorna near the tail end of a discussion about her inadequate quarters, "The more your people think /you/ are vulnerable, the more they think /they/ are vulnerable. Not to mention it encourages rebellion and sedition. You need something /more/ than what you have now."

Lorna Dane has posed:
After the fly over Genosha's ruins, a truly depressing sight, Lorna had agreed to sit down and relax. Unfortunately the embarrassment of walking through the scattered prefabricated houses and where she kept herself in the ruined city was not really what one expected when hosting foreign royalty. Not that she cared for herself.. but she also knew Namor wasn't the type to deal with 'roughing it' if he didn't have to.

So a demonstration of Blink's powers was required to bring the pair to Atlantis, and cross the planet's oceans in a rapid manner. As they stepped through the purple portal, Lorna smiled faintly, "And now you've seen one of my secrets for how I manage to get to NYC and Genosha multiple times in a day." She murmured, and as they settled in for drinks she fell quiet to the mini-lecture about the appearance of power.

A small roll of her eyes followed, "You are not the first person to tell me this, I am aware. However I felt that it was important to win my people over through a demonstration of my willingness to go through what they were. It felt vapid and a waste of resources to create myself a palace when my people barely had running water. I never had a coronation either, much to the irritation of several of the Acolytes." She sighed and swirled the contents of her glass about. Her chin propped up with her other hand.

"Not that it will matter. My father will return, and I will return the crown to him if that is what he wants."

Namor has posed:
"I was thinking more of a command tent in a military camp," Namor offered as he drains the last bit of his wine and reaches for the bottle placed halfway between them, filling his glass with a quick and clean pour. "It would project power and importance while still allowing you to appear humble," he explains while he sips at his drink, then sets it aside and shifts to a more comfortable position, "Though in my experience, your people don't want to see you go through what they're going through. They want to see you ride through on the back of a leviathan and toss gold to them from its back. They want you to be a figure of power and importance. You represent them to the world, after all." He pauses then, sensing her exhaustion at a topic that, by her own accounts, has been broached several times before. He shifts tacks and relents, one hand coming up to signal peace as he reclines into comfort. "I have no desire to lecture, however. You will do as you see fit as we all must," he offers before he falls silent as he considers her last admittance.

"And what is it /you/ want?" Namor asks curiously, gesturing towards a large window that dominates the far wall and overlooks the city of Atlantis as if to indicate Genosha many miles away in the opposite direction, "You lead well. Why not keep the crown?"

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna shrugged once, another sigh on her lips that she barely held back as she sipped at her wine and considered his words. "I had a canvas tent before, but people were coming in or listening at the flaps constantly. So for my security the Acolytes demanded I take over one of the buildings. I agreed to that." She mused, "And my people already know I am powerful. The world knows I am. I have been feared since I was sixteen and started to show magnetic powers. My father is the man that scared the world, and I wanted to ease people into thinking I was not just like him." She added, her voice soft.

At his question on what she wanted she grimaced, and took another sip from her glass. "So I've been told.." She glanced down at her cup and seemed to take a while to ponder over his question.

"I never expected to be Queen of anything. I grew up a kid with dead parents and green hair. Then I had Magneto's powers.. and well.. then it turned out he was my father. It's something I've always struggled with. And the responsibility of trying to maintain a kingdom wasn't what I set out to do in my twenties." She offered half, weak laugh.

"I feel like I've missed out on a lot of things. Travel. Education. A chance to discover who I am without the shadow of Magneto lurking behind me. And I guess I never realized it bothered me until the world thought he was dead."

Namor has posed:
As if Lorna's answer made it simple, Namor simply shrugs, settling his elbows on the arms of the recliner while he observes the Queen of Genosha, "Then you will have what you want when your father returns. Give him back the crown and throne and then find an adventure." He reaches for his glass and his tone shifts to a 'Neptune only knows' sort of cadence as he brings the wine to his lips, "I could certainly use an agent with your talents. Learn here in Atlantis, travel the world finding lost artifacts of my people, have all your expenses paid for and make your own decisions." It sounds almost like a job pitch, and the focused gaze the King of Atlantis settles on Lorna while he speaks implies it's no idle musing. There's a pause though as he drinks his wine, his eyes on the Queen for the scant seconds he's silent. When he's finished, he gestures around the room with a faintly quirked grin, the corners of his mouth pulling up somewhat cockily, "And if you grow to miss the comfort of living in a palace, you will be welcome here." It's phrased to mean the palace in general, but there's a look in the King's eye that suggests it's just as likely to mean his chambers in particular.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna leaned back in the antique seat, the wood creaking ever so gently at her motion as she considered the King in front of her. A little surprised at the generous offer, and trying to run her mind over the various ways it could be used against her. Doubtlessly, her father would disapprove, and moreover find fault with the idea of her having such a debt to Atlantis on top of everything else.

"You are aware of how old my father is, correct? He's nearing a century, and for those on land it's not common to look as if he is in the middle of his life still. Since I have his powers, I have to assume I will hold a similarly longer life span. Barring anyone trying to kill me, mind you... " She mused.

"And I am fairly certain he will keep me as his heir if he takes back the crown. It's not as if my siblings want it." She took another sip of her wine, turning her green eyed gaze back to him.

"My point is, that I have time to play with. And I will maintain my ties to Genosha, even if in a lesser extent.." She set the glass in her hand down, and paused. "Not that I am saying no, to your offer. I do want to learn about your culture, and your people. It's not as if people from the surface get that chance."

Namor has posed:
Perhaps tactfully, Namor elects not to point out that Magneto is at least twenty years his junior, especially as it has no bearing on the average rate of aging for a surface dweller. Namor may be half-human, but he's always trended more towards his Atlantean side. Ultimately he shrugs a single shoulder as if her raised points are of no significance to him, "Maintain your ties, then. I have no issue staying friendly with Genosha. It's not as if you will be representing Atlantis in a political fashion. However, there are hundreds of lost relics scattered amongst the people of your world, the vast majority aren't even recognized for what they are. It is not always appropriate to send a hunter-killer squad to recover them, and my people aren't entirely adept at navigating the surface world. You would simply be recovering that which rightfully belongs to Atlantis and travelling the world as you went. No wars, no battles, no throne rooms." A pause, "Unless of course some foolish human king is using an Atlantean tablet to decorate his walls."

As she speaks of learning Atlantean culture, he gestures to her, turning somewhat in his seat towards her while he looks as if he's only just remembered something. "That's right," he starts, "I agreed to allow you to stay here in the Palace and learn of my people as you wished. Your rooms have been furnished, and you may be surprised to learn that they are not attached to my own. My Vizier explicitly forbade it when I made the suggestion." He grins over his glass to Lorna, the likelihood of his Vizier actually forbidding such a thing very small.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna shifted in her seat, folding her hands on her lap as she leaned back, considering Namor's offer of helping Atlantis by searching the world over for the various artifacts. She could fairly easily talk her way into most places.. and well, if she didn't.. it was a rare place that could keep her out if she //really// wanted in. Locks. Computerized or not, hardly posed a challenge to her. Not that she was considering stealing per say.

"I'm interested, and for now, I'll leave it at that. If only because I am not sure what will happen in regards to my father. For all I know with my luck he will be killed in the resizing process and all my careful plans will be ruined. Or maybe he will go about trying to murder the world's humans in a rage and won't listen to me.." She sighed and took her cup up again to drain it, her eyebrows pinched at the thought.

"I love my father, but I am not ignorant of his faults."

Her frown faltered though as he spoke of her askance at visiting Atlantis. As he spoke of quarters having been prepared for her, her expression brightened. And at the same time a faint blush colored her cheeks as he spoke connecting chambers. It was the first he'd managed that.

She tried to laugh it off, clearing her throat. "I wasn't expecting anything so soon."

Namor has posed:
Namor notes the blush despite Lorna's attempt to cover it with a laugh and lets his smile turn lazily amused. "No?" the King asks with a raised eyebrow as he shifts to a more upright position on the recliner, settling his glass down on the small table that separates them. "Perhaps you've forgotten what it's like not to have to devote all your resources towards rebuilding your kingdom. Your rooms were finished the day after I promised them to you," he informs her with a soft laugh as he casually points out a spot about halfway along from the door leading into the hall. "They're not quite as large as my own chambers," he relates, explaining why he's pointing, "But they have been drained, a bed has been obtained, the bar is fully stocked and we equipped it with as many of the modern conveniences the surface world is so fond of that we could find. I understand there is even a shower and what I'm told is a free-standing tub." The purpose of which seems to be utterly amusing to Namor by the fact that he evidently suppresses a scoff when he reports upon its existence. "You are in this wing and I've had my Vizier locate some female staff that have spent some time on the surface," he continues, absent-mindedly swirling his wine and looking down into the red depths, "If you need anything else, let them know and they will retrieve it for you."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna shifted in her seat as she turned her gaze back to him, her hands idly ended up on the table as she toyed the with the coolness of the empty wine glass in front of her. It was more of a fidgety motion than anything else as she spread her senses outward and picked up the very room he spoke of, even as he gestured toward them and she tilted her head back to consider the hall he mentioned.

"I'll admit I have forgotten a little bit what it means to have a full palace at my disposal and people to manage it. There's something that happens when a lack of clean water and MRE's become standard fare." She glanced down at her hands, purposefully stopping her fidgeting with the glass as she settled them back on her lap and turned her gaze back to the King of Atlantis as he laughed. For all that he'd been a serious diplomat and King previously, he seemed far more relaxed than she'd seen him to that point.

"That is all very generous of you to do still. And thoughtful. Thank you." She smiled and then reached for the pitch to refill her wine glass. She was likely to end up past tipsy if she kept on it, but it wasn't as if she needed to drive or anything.

Namor has posed:
"I wouldn't know," comes the response from the Lord of the Seven Seas when Lorna mentions the shift in mindset when one is subject to refugee rations, his gaze settled on her once more. When she mentions his generosity, he simply laughs and shakes his head, "I did not have the rooms constructed for you, simply furnished. They otherwise would have sat empty." A wave of his hand to dismiss the allegations of generosity with crystal clear amusement, "You need not thank me. It was agreed upon, yes? We have signed your documents and put into action all we have promised. In time you will give me land on Genosha and the scales will be balanced." For a moment or two he simply watches Lorna, then with a soft grunt he pushes up onto his feet and offers her his hand to help her to her feet as well. Supposing of course she takes it, and supposing of course she doesn't press the matter, he doesn't immediately release her hand when she's upright either.

Instead, he begins to lead her towards the enormous window that dominates one entire wall of his chambers, the window that separates them from an entire ocean's worth of water with a simple command: "Come." The window looks out on Atlantis, illuminated in a phosphorescent twilight, and assuming the Queen has not yet pulled her hand away, Namor leverages the connection to draw her closer so he can more accurately draw her attention to a nearby building with a pointed finger. "Do you see that spire there? The nearest one? Most of my councilors have rooms there, each twice the size of this one. They serve as homes for them, at least while they are here in the Capital. Most also maintain estates in other cities throughout the Empire. It is called the..." He pauses and says something in rapid Atlantean, then smiles and turns to look Lorna in the eye without bothering to put so much as an extra hair's breadth of distance between them before he does. "In english, you would call it the Imperial Tower."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna exhaled a rough breath as he laughed off her comment about his generosity. It was agreed upon, true, but it was more thoughtful than she'd given the King of the Oceans credit for. All the little things spoke of a good amount of knowledge regarding the surface and not a man that ignored its existence and necessities. Still, she didn't press the issue, not as he rose and came about to her side of the table.

She took his offered hand, and the same vague spark of electromagnetism could be felt on Namor's part if he cared to notice it. As she stood, a bit tipsy, and perhaps gripping his hand a bit more firmly than she needed to as she gained her feet without wobbling.

As she drew closer to the window she looked out, her eyebrows shooting upward as she stared out at the large sweeping vista of the city. Her lips parting in a stunned fashion for a moment, before she caught herself and her gaze shifted to the spire he gestured at. She pressed closer to the window, until her breath fogged up the glass, as she looked all about. Only when he turned toward her did she look up, distracted from the view and noticing just how close he was to her side. If his senses were on par with Wolverine's, he doubtless could hear the way her heart lurched and how her finger twitched in his grip.

"Oh..It's.." She blinked, fumbling for words. "It's .. uhm pretty.."

Namor has posed:
At the moment, Namor's senses are tuned very much into the physical realm, and so when Lorna takes his hand, he glances down briefly as if looking to spot the source of the odd tingle in his hand. He'd always had a very good sense of direction in the oceans, a near necessity considering just how few landmarks there were in the empty void hanging between surface and sea floor. However, as that electromagnetic spark bleeds into his hand from the Queen's touch, it seems to momentarily disorient him, if only slightly. Like having the balance of your inner ear tweaked just slightly, he briefly turns into a very poor support indeed, but it lasts less than a second before he rights himself.

Needless to say, the King does his level best to pretend it was a mere slip and to ignore the fact that it happened at all. After all, his current focus is on Lorna herself, and he's not so easily distracted or pulled off course.

The Atlantean King has been known to boast that he could hear a school of fish change direction half an ocean away. Factoring for the King's prodigious arrogance, that still left him with senses that were exceptionally potent, and in the relative silence of the near empty room, Lorna's heartbeat is easily measurable. In fact, he doesn't even really hide the fact, his grin ticking just a touch upwards when her heart leaps, and he can certainly feel the twitch in his grip. "Pretty was certainly an objective of the architects," Namor states with amusement, his voice pitched low as his eyes flick back and forth between the Queen's. In no real rush to disrupt the current state of affairs, Namor simply maintains their proximity in silence for a handful of seconds before he turns back towards the window and attempts to draw her attention to another landmark visible from his window. This one is a bit harder to see, however, so he shifts to the side and steps behind the Mutant Queen, lifting her hand with his and in the process laying his arm overtop her own while his other hand rests lightly on her opposite shoulder. "You see that there?" he asks, his voice now barely above a whisper now that his mouth is, by clear necessity, only a scant few inches from her ear, "That is Atlan Park, named after one of our first Kings. A man of legend, rumored to have done much for Atlantis' children and education. Now his name is attached to one of the most famous children's parks in the capital."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna could barely notice the small misstep that the King had as he'd led her away, she'd been far too occupied with keeping her balance and not tripping over herself. A glass of wine in Genosha and another here, with little in between was hardly doing her any favors. She colored again as he easily grinned over her fumbling 'pretty' comment and she was quick to look as he shifted to draw her attention to something else beyond the Imperial spire.

His movement sparked a distracted glance to the view and she noticeably seemed to short circuit in terms of conversation and movement as he laid his other had on her shoulder and whispered. While she didn't particularly tense in motion, she certainly was very aware of his nearness, and found it very difficult to train her attention on the sight he spoke of.

She bit her lower lip, and tried to soften the way her breathing hitched ever so slightly with a careful measured count in her nose and back out again. "It's a bit dark.. and there's not enough metal to really give me a clear picture.." She managed, her voice mirroring his in tone and volume.