House Longtail - Honoring the Past, Looking to the Future - RPLOG
Participants
Date
3/11/479
Log
It's a chilly morning, and Flora appears to be expecting a guest. Still, she's dressed rather utilitarian, in a long, flowing robe. Certainly more fitting for a noble than the usual leather outfit she wears, but still a long way away from a proper dress. The guards at the door are, of course, going to be escorting the lion up to the large room she's overseeing repairs to.
Hugo Snowmane walks sedately along after the guards sent to escort him through the grounds and manor, his cane tapping gently on the ground. The stately lion has his over long tail draped gracefully over one arm and he looks around with polite, if somewhat detatched, interest. "Highlady," he says, inclining his head to Flora, "It is not often I am called away from breakfast by the leader of a noble house. How may I be of service?"
"As mister Hugo can see... Flora is working on a bit of a project, yes," the she-cat notes, gesturing about a large, empty room. It seems she's restoring an old, upstairs room to its former glory... Currently, there's not much to look at yet, but she must have some plans for the room...
"Flora has spoken with a friend, yes. Flora needs a... Reception-room for parties of sorts, yes... Nothing too big, but not too small either."
Hugo looks at Flora, not moving as his glance moves across the emptied room. "That is very. . . forward thinking of you," he says, "I suppose you are looking to furnish the place? I believe I have some artisans on call that could do the work. They do lovely things in cherrywood and stained oak, unless you prefer something else." The lion assumes that he has been called here for his merchant contacts.
"Flora has ideas. Flora is looking for feedback, yes," the cat notes, as she gestures at a small staging-table in the center of the room. "It is still Flora's home, and LongTech's factory. The furnishing needs to be... Fitting. Both for the House, and for Flora," she notes, as she gestures at two design-sketches on the table. One seems to be a horribly complicated mechanical device, nevertheless beautifully designed. A clock, perhaps. The other seems to be a more general layout of what Flora imagines the room to look like once it's done.
"Flora is thinking of... Making the room a statement of sorts, yes."
Hugo can't help but flinch a little when Flora refers to the old manor house as LongTech's factory. He had not actually seen more than a glimpse or two of the factory floor, but seeing the old ballroom reduced to. . . to THAT had made his skin crawl. He forces down his distaste and inclines his head to Flora. "As you like, Highlady," he says, "But I am a businessman, not an interior decorator. I do not really see why you have requested my presence." The lino tosses his snowy mane a little and watches workers removing debris from old display cases and broken wall paneling.
"Because, Mister Hugo... Flora wants to make the -right- statement," Flora notes, as she gestures at a bare wall. "Flora is hoping to restore the portraits of important members of... The old house, yes. Lady... Lady Alessa, Flora believes she is called? Lady Maria. Flora's grandfather, yes. Denying the past serves no purpose," the cat notes, before gesturing at another wall. "Heirlooms, carefully placed, to show the past is to be remembered, good or bad... But," she notes, as she takes a short pause.
"On the other hand... Flora's House is not the House of Lady Alessa... Just like neither of them is the House of Flora's grandfather."
Hugo is definitely brought up short by that. "You. . . still have the portraits?" he asks, dropping his tail to sway slowly behind him, "I thought they had all been lost, or destroyed after the coup. And what sort of heirlooms? Didn't the crown seize everything that wasn't taken by the fleeing Longtails?" The request for his input on making a statement seems to be momentarily forgotten.
"They are in... Poor condition. But the crown still has some, and it should be possible to reconstruct them... Perhaps not the old ones, due to their state, but something that should honor the old Longtails," she offers, before pausing. "Flora does not have many. But Flora has a good relationship with the King, yes, so a deal might be possible. Some are in the possession of collectors, yes? Such as Mister Hugo himself," she remarks lightly.
"Mister Hugo is not the only one, Flora imagines."
"Ah," Hugo says, frowning a bit and tossing his snowy mane, "You are asking me to hand over my own collection." He shakes his head. "No. It has taken several fortunes and more than a lifetime for my family to gather what it has, and while I must respect this new Longtail house you are trying to create, I find that I prefer the memory of Alessa's House and I will preserve that memory, Highlady."
"Flora has no intention of taking what is not Flora's to take, no," the cat notes, shrugging lightly. "Flora has no issues with the old House. If Flora did, why would Flora restore, or recreate, the paintings of the old House? Flora is, however, saying that the House, as it was, serves no purpose in Sweetwater, today. A memory. Important, but in the past. The Spyguard is under the supervision of House Solacious, and Flora has no intention of running it. It would not help Sweetwater, it wouldn't help Promise."
"But Flora -can- help Sweetwater and Promise through technology. By aspiring to the Creators' example."
"Still... The past is important. Should be preserved. Both the good, and the bad."
"And if helping Promise means Flora has to learn how to be a Noble, so be it, yes. Flora would assume Lady Alessa didn't do things right from day one, either."
Hugo considers Flora, leaning on his cane. "No," he says, thoughtfully, "I suppose she did not." He turns and looks around the room. "I -may- have portraits of Alessa and of your grandfather, Reginald, in my collection," he confesses, "I suppose I could arrange to have fascimiles made for you and your House. If it is to preserve their memory." He looks at the ongoing construction and sniffs. "What is it you mean, when you say that you will learn to be noble?" he asks, "Just what do you think nobility means?"
"As far as Flora is concerned... Nobility isn't about titles or ranks, no. Not about power or receiving respect. As far as Flora is concerned, nobility is something... Different. A way of acting for something other than oneself. An intention, to help the world, and perseverance to do it. If it requires Flora to act in a way that Nobles do, Flora will have to learn how to do that," she notes, although her tone of voice makes it clear that nobles and nobility are two different things, to her.
"Power means nothing. Prestige means nothing. Money, it all means nothing. What matters is how a being treats the hand they're dealt. Flora has met noble commoners, and ignoble nobles. It doesn't matter what title someone has. Respect is earned, not given, yes, and every being is their own person."
