Posts by Araceli

^{♥ ― Deadboy had only left recently-within the last day--and already Araceli felt overwhelmed. It was she who'd been chosen to step up in the Crown's place, after all, and this alone was scaring her more than she could ever admit. How could she ever hope to match up against Deadboy, or Duchess, or any of the other leaders she had heard about? They were noble, honorable, made for leadership... and she very much wasn't. Her own foolish actions had driven a wedge between allies, one that had not been repaired--and she didn't know if it ever could. She had come to the Sanctum beaten, bruised, shivering from cold and malnourishment. While she'd survived, her mind had not escaped that place of torture whole and pure. She was no monster, but she thought of herself as one, and perhaps that was worse.}

^{Still, no matter her inner feelings, she had to step up, had to act to recover the Sanctum. It had been falling apart, members drifting away, long before Deadboy left--no fault of hers, of course--but even so, she felt like she could've done more, somehow. Some way. And now that leadership rested solely on her shoulders, she felt it necessary to do as much as she could, even run herself ragged if it meant improvement for her home. The Sanctum rarely visited its allies, true, and even more rarely held events to invite its allies to. Well, that would change, in time. But first, she had to actually reach out, see if anyone still counted themselves as one of the Sanctum's allies. That was why she was here. "Hello?" she called out, tentatively, as she waited politely at the border. "I have news from the Sanctum!"}

^{♥ ― Deadboy had only left recently-within the last day--and already Araceli felt overwhelmed. It was she who'd been chosen to step up in the Crown's place, after all, and this alone was scaring her more than she could ever admit. How could she ever hope to match up against Deadboy, or Duchess, or any of the other leaders she had heard about? They were noble, honorable, made for leadership... and she very much wasn't. Her own foolish actions had driven a wedge between allies, one that had not been repaired--and she didn't know if it ever could. She had come to the Sanctum beaten, bruised, shivering from cold and malnourishment. While she'd survived, her mind had not escaped that place of torture whole and pure. She was no monster, but she thought of herself as one, and perhaps that was worse.}

^{Still, no matter her inner feelings, she had to step up, had to act to recover the Sanctum. It had been falling apart, members drifting away, long before Deadboy left--no fault of hers, of course--but even so, she felt like she could've done more, somehow. Some way. And now that leadership rested solely on her shoulders, she felt it necessary to do as much as she could, even run herself ragged if it meant improvement for her home. The Sanctum rarely visited its allies, true, and even more rarely held events to invite its allies to. Well, that would change, in time. But first, she had to actually reach out, see if anyone still counted themselves as one of the Sanctum's allies. That was why she was here. "Hello?" she called out, tentatively, as she waited politely at the border. "I have news from the Sanctum!"}

^{♥ ― Deadboy had only left recently-within the last day--and already Araceli felt overwhelmed. It was she who'd been chosen to step up in the Crown's place, after all, and this alone was scaring her more than she could ever admit. How could she ever hope to match up against Deadboy, or Duchess, or any of the other leaders she had heard about? They were noble, honorable, made for leadership... and she very much wasn't. Her own foolish actions had driven a wedge between allies, one that had not been repaired--and she didn't know if it ever could. She had come to the Sanctum beaten, bruised, shivering from cold and malnourishment. While she'd survived, her mind had not escaped that place of torture whole and pure. She was no monster, but she thought of herself as one, and perhaps that was worse.}

^{Still, no matter her inner feelings, she had to step up, had to act to recover the Sanctum. It had been falling apart, members drifting away, long before Deadboy left--no fault of hers, of course--but even so, she felt like she could've done more, somehow. Some way. And now that leadership rested solely on her shoulders, she felt it necessary to do as much as she could, even run herself ragged if it meant improvement for her home. The Sanctum rarely visited its allies, true, and even more rarely held events to invite its allies to. Well, that would change, in time. But first, she had to actually reach out, see if anyone still counted themselves as one of the Sanctum's allies. That was why she was here. "Hello?" she called out, tentatively, as she waited politely at the border. "I have news from the Sanctum!"}

^{♥ ― One last meeting? she puzzled over that for a moment, not wanting to admit to herself what it might mean. She hadn't really been paying attention to what was going on, but as soon as Deadboy spoke her attention immediately flicked over to him. The swift fox had been tending to the gardens, although she wasn't really sure what it mattered anymore--the members of the Sanctum were pretty much long-gone, and she was the last remnant of a time long since passed. Well, her and Deadboy, it seemed, but as he went on, her eyes widened in disbelief. He was leaving? She hesitated at his words--that was almost exactly how she felt. A young swift fox, cursed with vampirism and made monstrous--in her eyes, at least--for it. The sheer shock of her being named as Crown, as leader, sent her reeling, and she plopped down just to keep her balance. Surely he was mistaken, surely he was wrong, surely he didn't mean for her to remain as leader, but by the time she'd opened her eyes again, struggling to come up with some protest that would make him stay, he was already heading into the distance. "Deadboy!!" she yelled out, not just going to let him go without saying something, anything, her paws leaping into motion. She sped out of the gardens, hurtling past the gates, hoping to catch up with him before he was gone for good, but already his form had disappeared. "DEADBOY!!!" she screamed again, knowing now that he wasn't coming back, that he hadn't even looked back, her scream born of pure frustration and desperation and outright fear. She wasn't prepared for this, she didn't know how to be a leader, how was she supposed to run the Sanctum?}

^{♥ ― It was all a bit overwhelming, so many people surrounding her and asking her questions--or else putting forth their own opinions. Still, she had to stay strong, right, couldn't let such a simple thing as fear get in her way, so she merely took a deep breath before speaking, with a respectful nod to Sweetophelia. "I came here for two things, actually, but let's get the bad stuff out of the way first." Another deep breath, this one more drawn-out. "Deadboy has stepped down as leader, and--for whatever reason--he has chosen me to replace him." She hesitated a little, wondering if she should give them time to absorb the news, or just continue right ahead. Probably his leaving meant little to them, but she didn't know for sure. "So, in light of that, I have also come to ask whether the Sanctum is still counted as an ally to you." She wouldn't be surprised if they said no--so far the Sanctum had had poor relationships with its allies, yet another thing she needed to improve or change. Still, seeing as they hadn't come and visited, to make it official--at least to her knowledge--there was still a chance.}

^{♥ ― "Jelloshots," the swift fox called out, her voice a mixture of stiffness and warm tones. Of course, she was happy to see her back again, but couldn't help wondering why she'd left in the first place. "Come back home again?" she asked, with no irritation or displeasure in her voice--at least, none that she'd put there purposefully. Araceli remained standing, feeling uncomfortably small facing the hybrid.}

^{♥ ― Araceli gave a quick nod of respect, remaining on her feet. It was tempting to sit down, but then she was afraid she'd simply fall asleep there, so... standing it was. "Not really, I'm afraid," she answered, her breath catching just a little. "Deadboy has stepped down as leader, and asked me to take his place. He's not dead--I know that for certain--but he left, disappeared to who knows where." Perhaps that wasn't really bad news--after all, it was only a change in leadership, and the previous leader wasn't even dead--but neither could it be called good news, at least in Araceli's eyes. She had been, and still was, totally unprepared for his announcements, both the one about his leaving and choosing her as Crown in his place. Right now she was only barely treading water.}

^{♥ ― She began quickly after Dutchbaby approached; might as well get it out and over with. "Deadboy has stepped down as leader, and I have been promoted in his place. He hasn't died, exactly, just... needed some time to himself, I guess?" Somehow, that distinction seemed important to her. "I thought that I should come by, check up on our alliance here, see how you all are doing."}

^{♥ ― "Well, it's good to have you back," she said, nodding decisively. Ara definitely understood how she must've felt, now that she'd become leader herself. "I'm glad to see you again."}

^{♥ ― She shrugged a bit, looking around as well. "Nothing all that much, really. Deadboy's gone, and he chose me to be in charge now. Westeros broke off their alliance with us." But aside from that, what had happened of import recently? "I did send out a few birds, with messages about the Sanctum needing fresh blood, new members, and offering a chance for high positions. Nothing's come of that so far, though, so probably all the birds died or got blown off-course."}

^{♥ ― It barely took her a moment to respond. "That would be great, thank you!" Jelloshots was so active among the Clans, so involved with them all, surely she could find a few people that at least wanted to give the Sanctum a try? For the first time, Araceli regretted not getting out more, not going to the events their allies held--of which there hadn't been all that many, but even so--not making connections with people outside of the Sanctum. If she had, would things be any different now?}

^{♥ ― "An inn, you say?" the Crown commented, padding over. A place that allowed people to stay for a while, but wasn't their actual home.... Sounded interesting. She didn't get out all that much, but that would have to change soon if she wanted to keep the Sanctum on its feet. The Benbow Inn would be excellent to stop at on her way to visit allies or confront enemies--not that she ever wished to have to do the latter. "I'll have to check it out someday, then."}

^{♥ ― She wasn't quite sure who would show up, aside from Jelloshots, but still the announcement was a good thing, making things official and all. Araceli still didn't really know if bringing in someone else to co-lead would turn out well, but she just had to trust Chloris, hope that she wished to improve the Sanctum, not harm it. The femme had said that she'd once belonged to the Sanctum, so Ara figured that her heart was in the right place, especially if she'd offered to help out. Araceli definitely didn't have much experience or knowledge about leadership, that was for certain. She jumped a little, realizing that Chloris wanted her to add some things on as well. "Er... yes, yes. I can't lead this place on my own--I have too little knowledge for that--and Chloris used to be a member here, so I believe she'll do the right thing. I already headed out to our current allies when Deadboy stepped down and left, but many did not seem to realize that we still counted them as allies, for we have not had many interactions with them for quite some time. We'll go about strengthening those first, then add on as we see fit."}

^{♥ ― "We thank you for that, then," Araceli said, studying the newcomer with interest. Her eyes flitted to the cloak, briefly wondering how it'd come off so easily, with no movement from Eliza herself. But no matter now, she supposed. Eliza was, hopefully, just the first of many to come, the representation of a new, and already brighter, future for the Sanctum. "Welcome to the Sanctum, Eliza. I am the Crown here, the co-leader along with Chlorisroses. We're happy to have you here."}

^{♥ ― "Of course," she said quickly, taking the lead. "This way!" The swift fox started padding off, making sure Eliza was keeping up. "There's plenty of rooms in the mansion--take your pick, I suppose, pretty much everything is available--and feel free to decorate or not-decorate as you wish. You can do whatever to your room, as long as you don't destroy it--we might take just a tad bit of offense at that," she tossed back, turning her head to let Eliza see her broad smile.}

^{♥ ― She'd tried to keep up the gardens as best she could, to keep the grounds looking neat and tidy for any visitors that might happen to come by. The greenhouses, however, she'd left entirely alone, aside from making sure the plants in them got enough water and seemed to be thriving. However, it all was a lot of work for just one person, especially one who didn't know much about plants and their upkeep in the first place. Whenever she got too frustrated, or disappointed, or just weighed down by all she had left to do, Araceli had escaped to her own mini garden, a secluded area with a small fountain and bench, with a bleeding heart and foam flowers, a stone pathway leading up to it. That had been quiet and peaceful, a place where she could relax and stop worrying about the Sanctum's future, about her own leadership role, about the mess she'd seemed to have made--or at least, hadn't solved--with their allies.}

^{So now, she was quite grateful and pleased to see other people working on the gardens. The swift fox had watched with awe as Eliza set to work on the greenhouses, realizing that she actually knew what she was doing. "Hey there," she called out gently, not wishing to startle her. "You like the gardens as well, then? I couldn't keep it all up, the gardens, the greenhouses--and I didn't wish to just make a further mess of things...." she trailed off, somewhat awkwardly. "You need me to do anything?"}

^{♥ ― She set to work, though listening closely to the others' conversation. Her teeth snipped neatly through a mostly-dead stem, and she cautiously tugged it out of the greenhouse and off to one side. The woody plants could probably be used for a bonfire, and the rest would have to be disposed of in other ways, she guessed. "So, how did you learn how to fix all of this?" she asked curiously, gesturing around, upon her return.}