Calliope had blinked at the summons from the queen when she'd first received it, a sliver of curiosity as to what it was that she was being summoned for. Her soldiers were in peak condition, the still relatively new equipment was absolutely delightful, and she hadn't submitted any requisition forms as of late. Which, even if those were things that were on the table for needing to be discussed, were things that the Minister of Internal Affairs would usually summon her for. Or, ones that she would request a meeting with the minister if she needed something instead. 

However, as she strode through the palace to meet with the Queen, all she projected was calm confidence. The one she'd learned early on, for all that she didn't use it until she was close to her Enlightenment in her teens. Though it hadn't been dictated, she'd still donned her dress uniform. She wouldn't disrespect the queen nor her own family by dressing any less than the situation called for. Which, regardless of opinion, the Queen was not one to disrespect.

Once the servant announced her presence, Calliope entered and bowed as much as was respectable as she entered the room. "Your majesty."

The queen waited patiently in the small room in the palace that she reserved for private meetings such as this. Ones where there was no particular need for grandeur or pomp and circumstances for. It felt better to be in somewhere a little more humble. It was, she felt hopefully less daunting for those visiting and she hoped would serve to set the right tone for what she hoped to obtain with this little meeting. The queen would wait patiently for the new arrival. A kettle was boiling and she had already selected some of her personal favorite tea for the discussion in the hopes that the younger woman wouldn't be as reticent as some of her visitors were. 

When the younger woman came, she would be greeted with a small smile and a bow of the head. Kimora knew the importance of providing their foreign visitors and in this case, protectors with the appropriate amount of respect.

"Thank you for your presence." The queen spoke before gesturing towards the seat in front of her. "Please, take a seat." She would wait for the witch to do so and assuming that she didn't object, would continue shortly thereafter: "I do hope that you like tea." Kimora was, as it was well known by pretty much anyone who had ever personally encountered her, very fond of the warm drink.

Calliope took the offered seat across from the queen, with a small smile. Never let it be said that the Llewellyns did not have decorum or grace, because they certainly did and they knew how to use it well. She gave the queen a small but genial smile, one that was just warm and polite enough to not offend. Given her rank, it had been something she'd spent the time cultivating.

"Thank you, your majesty. I certainly do enjoy a good cup of tea from time to time." She lifted the offered cup and took a sip. "What is it that I can do for you today, your majesty?" Her tone was even and calm, as she set the cup back down on its saucer.

Kimora was relieved to be dealing with someone of sufficient sophistication to be able to appreciate a nice cup of tea. She would pour it out carefully, as dutifully as she would have were she serving a visiting monarch. This wasn't a particularly urgent meeting and as such she saw no need to rush things. The queen took a sip for her own drink before answering the question. 

"You know that king Cassian is making noise about preparing to strike against the Eldouirs in Dresmond." It wasn't quite common knowledge and certainly the queen was sharing something of a secret here but there were rumors. The Eldouirs couldn't be left unchecked for much longer, some form of conflict was inevitable. "He wishes for us to join him but, you understand this would be a big step for us."

The tea was a good blend, even though Calliope herself was not as much a tea drinker compared to others in her family, and one that she was able to drink without having to fall back on the lessons of politeness and civility that had been drilled into her over and over as a child. Not enough for her to go out of her way to keep the tea stocked in her own home for herself but perhaps she might order some for any guests of her own who might be partial to tea themselves. It was, however, a matter of self-control to not react over much to the confirmation of certain rumors. Still, her eyebrows raised and her spine straightened minutely. 

For a brief moment, she bit the tip of her tongue behind her lips. This was not a situation where saying what immediately came to mind would be helpful. But with rumors having been floating around through certain channels, she wasn't entirely caught off guard but the revelation. 

"There are certainly things that are of immediate concern should that be a step that we take." She might not be the most politically minded of her family but she was a strategic thinker and planner. This was certainly more up her alley than anything else. This was her element and it was almost as if something relaxed in her bones because this was a conversation she knew how to have. "We would need more information, for one, on what exactly is happening in Dresmond. Sending them in blind is not acceptable if we can change that."

Kimora swirled the contents of her cup, ensuring that it was properly mixed. She looked down at the liquid, thinking. Calliope was right of course, there was far too much uncertainty right now for them to set anything in stone. Hence why she had called for this audience, and would be calling for a good many more over the course of the next few days. "The last time that Arynn Frey went to war, it did not go well for my family and ultimately the nation." The queen recalled bitterly. Five-hundred years it had taken to Llewellyns to reclaim what was rightly theirs, whilst those pathetic beaurocrats had turned the once mighty country into little more than a trading outpost.

"In truth..." The queen continued. "I would have much rather waited until our wall was finished. Two years for us isn't a long time." With the wall up, they could have entered into the fray without having to fear the possibilities of a counterattack against their home country. "However, it would seem that king Cassian is intent on moving sooner rather than later. Given the nature of our enemy, he might well not have any chance. I trust that you are familiar with the Eldouir and what they have done to Dresmond?"

The question was somewhat redundant. The queen doubted that there was a person in Terra Nova who hadn't heard of just what what had happened in Dresmond, especially given the number of refugees that had been pouring into the nation.

In lieu of an immediate response, as this was a much more loaded conversation, she tapped a finger against the side of her teacup as she ordered her thoughts. Because all of Arynn Frey had suffered from the war that was only several generations back for them, not just the Llewellyn family. But that was a thought that stayed in the back of her mind. The whole of the country was at risk now, should they follow Cassian's request for the war. 

"I am familiar with the Eldouirs." She looked up from her tea to Kimora as her thoughts began to settle into order. "Is Cassian requesting aid as an ally or as a favor?" Letting the Nevermeran king pick and pull at the strings of Arynn Frey as he had done with Lorendale was not an option that Calliope was personally happy with, even if she was keeping that from showing on her face.

"And what would we be offering in regards to either option? Information, armaments, or combatants?" There were logistics running in her mind for each option, in ways that would be best for them. 

Kimora thought back to her last meeting with Cassian. In many ways, she quite appreciated them. There was little to no beating about the bush, just straightforward discussions and negotiations between two adults who found themselves at the heads of two of Terra Nova's most powerful nations. "He asked me, and I have agreed to supply him with, a shield to prevent Hiram Eldouir from teleporting himself and his followers into Nevermere's palace." It was a simple enough request and not one which the queen had felt that it would have been appropriate for her to refuse. After all, it was in her interests to keep their closest allies alive. "He did however drop some hints and certainly asked if we would follow him on some attempt to rid the world of the Eldouirs in a more practical sense."

Kimora swirled the contents of her cup, glancing down into the liquid. "We could just supply weapons of course but that would certainly be seen as taking a side. I doubt there's much intelligence we could provide them with that they do not already have or have the means of acquiring." The witches of Nevermere were capable of a great deal after all. "No, I do think that he was hoping that we might get our hands dirty on this occasion."