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In the weeks after the Doctor’s prank, the palace had been filled with sights of russet flashes, destroyed tapestries, and lots of whining from the victim. The fox often frequented the throne room where he sat high in the rafters watching all those who visited below. The Tsaritsa and Pierro were visited daily by wealthy nobles, merchants, and foreign dignitaries come to discuss politics, funding, and foreign relations alike. Today the fox settled up high early into the morning, when Her Majesty and Pierro had just settled. He was sure to drag thick blankets and some of Capitano’s coats into the rafters and create a small bed. He laid down, watching with judgment from high above as the first victim— sorry, Noble, walked into the throne room.
The man, dressed in billowing silks and decadent silver jewelry, waltzed in without even a hint of nervousness or fear in his eyes, something that the fox would usually respect, but this man radiated nothing but foolish arrogance. The man strutted practically right up to the throne, only stopping some five feet away, much closer to their Queen than any man should be in his opinion. The man didn’t even have the decency to properly bow. The fox’s tail had begun to thrash wildly behind him as he stood from his resting place and started to prowl around the rafters, small huffs leaving his already irritated form. The Tsaritsa and Pierro seemed to hold a similar distaste for the man in front of them. After rushed and unprofessional greetings, the nobleman went straight into his spiel. With no respects or praises to Her Majesty spoken, the man got right to the point of his visit, he wished for the Fatui to endorse his family business (a business his grandfather spent year building from the ground up that him and his father have been mooching off of their while lives) so they could get more sales. According to his report, ever since he had taken over the business, his new policies had reduced sales and now they weren’t making enough profit for him to live his extravagant lifestyle. Growls left his vulpine form as his annoyance was made known. Pierro, who looked absolutely miserable in the presence of this daft man, shot a look up at him, hoping for him to behave in front of guests no matter how idiotic they may be. As always, the chiding of that old man never meant much to him. As the man went on, he made his presence known with growls and short barks, the man slowly growing annoyed with the beast above him. In all his foolishness, the man decided to call out the fox, claiming that he felt wildly unsafe with an untamed rodent running around the palace; he stated how he expected a much nicer experience in the palace of Her Majesty. This is what finally sets their Queen off as she draws out a long sigh and snaps her fingers for the guards to carry out the arrogant man. Howling laughter filled the throne room as the man balked and huffed at ‘the audacity’ of their Queen and her rodents.
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No more than 2 hours later a sturdy middle aged woman shuffles into the room with a small cart of delicious pastries. Now this was a woman that the fox would love to sit down with and listen to her tales over a cup of warm tea and biscuits. He had already settled after the tomfoolery of the last contestant for his approval (since when was this a contest???) and had high hopes for this seemingly sweet old woman. She stopped halfway through the room and bowed low, proper and pleasant greetings spilling from her cracked lips. The fox huffed his approval as he groomed his paws bashfully. After the Tsaritsa and Pierro exchanged their greetings, the woman got into the purpose of her visit. She was a baker from Fontaine who recently moved to Snezhnaya to be with her lover, but needed the approval and endorsement of the Fatui to move her business to the capital. She offered well made pastries of all flavors and types to their Queen and her director which they took with joy and tasted. The fox wished he was human now more than ever so that he too could taste those treats. She stood respectfully as their Queen hummed her approval of the delicacies, turning to Pierro and signaling him to respond. He quickly stood up, grabbed various paperwork from a nearby table and handed it off to the sturdy woman, exchanging words of approval and legal proceedings. She merrily walked off not too long after, but not before sending a knowing look up towards the rafters, and now, after seeing her full face, he swears he’s seen this woman before. After her exit, the Tsaritsa coos up at the fox and motions to him to come down. Of course he follows her instruction, leaping gracefully down and trotting up to his Queen. She bends down and scoops up her eleventh and sets him gently in her lap, stroking his fur as he settles, vibrating with purrs.
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The final person to enter the throne room for the day was a thin man, with nervousness radiating off his body. He did the normal respectful, albeit shaky, bow and pleasant greetings. The fox was mostly asleep when this man entered and hadn’t paid close attention to his opening conversation. The man was apparently a nurse at a small hospital for a group of villages in the south. The hospital had recently been struck with an influx of sick patients and was now running out of materials and medicines. The hospital had sent him to request a shipment of medical supplies from the Fatui since their annual shipment wasn’t scheduled for another 4 months. To the fox this seemed like a pretty typical situation, the Fatui would send a new shipment and the people would stop complaining, but the Tsaritsa stayed oddly silent and Pierro had an almost disapproving face. The fox laid confused in his Queen’s lap as the nurse man seemed to sense their disapproval and began to tremble. The man fumbled around excuses, claiming that his hospital desperately needed the supplies, but the fox’s superiors remained unconvinced. Now the fox was utterly lost, why wouldn’t they support this seemingly struggling hospital? His answer came quicker than expected as Pierro cited a report from the same hospital more than a week ago requesting supplies, which the Fatui had already sent, he continued, asking the man why the hospital would be requesting supplies yet again. The nurse simply stood there in pale shock, stuttering around excuse after excuse. It all made sense in the foxes head as he put the puzzle together. This hospital was trying to gain twice the amount of supplies from the Fatui, unfortunately for them it didn’t work as intended. And once more today, the Tsaritsa merely snapped her fingers and guards came to escort their fraudulent nurse out of the palace. The fox chided happily as the Tsaritsa once again began to stroke his fur once more. She spoke soft words that he barely paid attention to as his mind was lost and his body vibrated with purrs.