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Description
“Keiran.” Meri didn’t turn away from the screen as he entered, but from the shadow alone it was hard to mistake the hulking Ysali native for anyone else.

“Princ…” he started, then shifted his words, “…Empress. I didn’t realize you were up here.”

She closed her eyes against the sudden shock of pain and memory. He meant well, but she couldn’t process that change, not now. “Please don’t call me that.”

She could see his expression in the reflection of her monitor; relief mixed with worry. “Princess then?” a hint of a smile crossed his lips.

Meri sighed. “I haven’t changed, but everything is different now, isn’t it?” She literally hadn’t changed. This dress was barely holding together. She would need to find something that fit before long. Maybe Beatha had something, or clothes Eibhan had left behind when he was last on the Fiacail.

“We haven’t had much of a chance to talk, since…” his voice trailed off and he seemed to struggle for words.

“Since everything fell apart.” She worked hard to keep her voice monotone as she finished his statement. She’d shed enough tears for one day. “I’ve not really been fit for company. I fear I may have let Cornelious bear the brunt of that. I can’t bear to think where we’d be now if he hadn’t been on Corraught.”

She felt his big hand pat her gently on the head. “I wouldn’t fret too much over that. He cares quite a bit about you. He was… a fair bit distraught when he found out you were trapped on the island.” His eyes unfocused, as he remembered. “Eibhan was the best gunfighter I had ever seen, until yesterday. The old man… he made Eibhan look like a rookie.” He drew in a deep breath and swallowed. “I am sorry, princess. He was a good man.”

Dammit. She was not going to cry. “He was.” Eibhan had a difficult relationship with his grandfather, and she knew it stemmed from the time he’d spent as an apprentice to the old man. What was it Eibhan had called it? The Path. She changed the subject, “You had a girl in Bailegue… Caira, yes? Have you had any word?”

Keiran expression softened. “I’m touched that you remember. She wasn’t in the register, so I expect she’ll be safe enough. I was on duty so I didn’t bring her to the ball.” The lines in his jaw hardened. “Not much information is coming out of Corraught. While we were lifting off the defensive turrets around the Palace all activated and started shooting every Army and Navy dropship, even some of the ships in low orbit. The shields activated shortly afterwards.” Meri had been unconscious by then, sedated by Beatha.

“Maybe some of the Guard survived.” She allowed herself a glimmer of hope. “That explains why the Navy cruisers are keeping a higher orbit.” And why there was no traffic to or from the surface. Traitors, all of them. “The fleet has started to disperse, but there is a patrol ship nosing around. We’re pretty well hidden but if it pings us we’ll have to get creative.”

“We won’t be able to stay in the system for too much longer. We’ll need supplies… and allies.”

Allies. Meri wondered how many of those she had left.

***

More storyboarding, and a proper introduction to Keiran. I'm very fond of the Universal Dress. It is resilient to a lot of posing and simulates very well. I've not had a lot of chance to explore its other parts and textures due to the focus on this set of storyboarding, but I expect to get a fair bit of use out of it.

I didn't mess with colour adjustments here as a great bit of light is coming from a star/sun HDRI; pulling the blue out shifts a lot of that light into the red spectrum, which looked odd.

Description
“Keiran.” Meri didn’t turn away from the screen as he entered, but from the shadow alone it was hard to mistake the hulking Ysali native for anyone else.

“Princ…” he started, then shifted his words, “…Empress. I didn’t realize you were up here.”

She closed her eyes against the sudden shock of pain and memory. He meant well, but she couldn’t process that change, not now. “Please don’t call me that.”

She could see his expression in the reflection of her monitor; relief mixed with worry. “Princess then?” a hint of a smile crossed his lips.

Meri sighed. “I haven’t changed, but everything is different now, isn’t it?” She literally hadn’t changed. This dress was barely holding together. She would need to find something that fit before long. Maybe Beatha had something, or clothes Eibhan had left behind when he was last on the Fiacail.

“We haven’t had much of a chance to talk, since…” his voice trailed off and he seemed to struggle for words.

“Since everything fell apart.” She worked hard to keep her voice monotone as she finished his statement. She’d shed enough tears for one day. “I’ve not really been fit for company. I fear I may have let Cornelious bear the brunt of that. I can’t bear to think where we’d be now if he hadn’t been on Corraught.”

She felt his big hand pat her gently on the head. “I wouldn’t fret too much over that. He cares quite a bit about you. He was… a fair bit distraught when he found out you were trapped on the island.” His eyes unfocused, as he remembered. “Eibhan was the best gunfighter I had ever seen, until yesterday. The old man… he made Eibhan look like a rookie.” He drew in a deep breath and swallowed. “I am sorry, princess. He was a good man.”

Dammit. She was not going to cry. “He was.” Eibhan had a difficult relationship with his grandfather, and she knew it stemmed from the time he’d spent as an apprentice to the old man. What was it Eibhan had called it? The Path. She changed the subject, “You had a girl in Bailegue… Caira, yes? Have you had any word?”

Keiran expression softened. “I’m touched that you remember. She wasn’t in the register, so I expect she’ll be safe enough. I was on duty so I didn’t bring her to the ball.” The lines in his jaw hardened. “Not much information is coming out of Corraught. While we were lifting off the defensive turrets around the Palace all activated and started shooting every Army and Navy dropship, even some of the ships in low orbit. The shields activated shortly afterwards.” Meri had been unconscious by then, sedated by Beatha.

“Maybe some of the Guard survived.” She allowed herself a glimmer of hope. “That explains why the Navy cruisers are keeping a higher orbit.” And why there was no traffic to or from the surface. Traitors, all of them. “The fleet has started to disperse, but there is a patrol ship nosing around. We’re pretty well hidden but if it pings us we’ll have to get creative.”

“We won’t be able to stay in the system for too much longer. We’ll need supplies… and allies.”

Allies. Meri wondered how many of those she had left.

***

More storyboarding, and a proper introduction to Keiran. I'm very fond of the Universal Dress. It is resilient to a lot of posing and simulates very well. I've not had a lot of chance to explore its other parts and textures due to the focus on this set of storyboarding, but I expect to get a fair bit of use out of it.

I didn't mess with colour adjustments here as a great bit of light is coming from a star/sun HDRI; pulling the blue out shifts a lot of that light into the red spectrum, which looked odd.