Elena was struggling lately, an empty hole in her chest needed to be filled and she had been searching for various ways to find how to do that in a place like Dresmond. Five long years they had been here and to say she was getting antsy was an understatement. She had been spending more and more time out of the estate and out in the streets among the dresmondi. Even she needed a break from her fellow Eldouir every now and then.

Out of a cross street, not far in front of Citra, a dresmondi walked backwards with Elena less than a foot away from them. Their back bumped up against a cart and with a smile Elena whispered something to them. It was hard to tell whether this was threatening or flirtatious as the expression on both Elena and the dresmondi's faces could really have been either. Not quite enough fear nor enough pleasure in their faces to discern the truth. When the dresmondi spotted Citra though they slid out from around Elena and scampered away with their dyr.

Elena turned to look at who had interrupted them and leaned her shoulder against the side of the cart as spotted Citra with apple in hand. "Looks tasty," Elena commented though it was tough to tell whether she was referring to the apple or the young woman.

And this is what she got for daring to enjoy anything: an Eldouir, and one of the queens at that. Any trace of satisfaction shuttering into wariness, Citra froze as a redheaded woman and her Dresmondi prey stepped into view from one of the cross streets that spilled into this one. She neither knew nor wanted to know what was happening. Quietly, the teenager began to back away the way she had come before either of them could notice her presence, but it was too late.

When Elena addressed her, Citra gave a shallow nod and swallowed the bite of apple she’d been in the middle of chewing. Her appetite had entirely evaporated - funny how that happened under the increased threat of death. “It is, your majesty,” She confirmed, speaking of the apple in her hand. Unwilling to move any closer but also unwilling to retreat - predators gave chase when prey ran - Citra offered a quick bow where she stood and tried to think of a way to escape her unwanted company. They all had a reputation of being dangerously unpredictable at the best of times, and that made it hard to know what would appease them in any given moment. Though she had the second apple in her pocket, she wasn’t about to give up her food if she could help it. Perhaps the queen would grow bored of her and leave without causing too much damage.

Sure, Elena could play the game as well as the rest of the redheads but after five years of doing this, she often tired of that weary expression on people's faces. She didn't take joy in causing fear and pain the way that so many of them did. Maybe she had enjoyed that kind of power early on but fear and torture could only get you so far as royalty. There were other ways to earn respect and loyalty could only go so far if it was earned in less than honorable ways. There were exceptions to that rule of course, but Elena thought there might be a better way.

Sure, she could cause all sorts of damage against her enemies, but the Dresmondi were not her enemies but her subjects. Thus they deserved a different kind of treatment.

Elena made no moves towards the young woman. She could see no dyr but sometimes they were small and liked to hide in pockets. The girl was also young enough that it was possible she might have had the chance to get one. "What's your name?" Elena asked, tone neutral.

For a brief moment, Citra considered lying to the queen. The redheaded woman wouldn’t know, and there was no one who could contradict her. But what would it gain her? A tiny scrap of anonymity from someone who had already seen and would likely - hopefully - forget her face anyway? She couldn’t think of a reason for why the Eldouir would want to know her name, but even if, for some reason, the Eldouir sought her out later, Citra talked to so few people that finding her by name would be difficult as it was. However if she was somehow caught lying, especially to a queen…

“Citra,” She said, itching for the comforting grip of her dagger but knowing better than to reach for it. Though any redhead was implicitly a threat, Elena hadn’t moved any closer and seemed calm enough, and the teenager was not about to start a fight where one might be avoided; she knew who would be walking away the Victor. Citra still eyed the queen warily despite the distance between them. When it came after a pause, the next question wasn’t asked in an overly rude tone, even if the words themselves were rather blunt. “Is there something you want, your majesty?”

The answer would be yes, of course - everyone wanted something, even those who claimed otherwise - so she was really interested in finding out what Elena wanted, primarily to appease the queen and be on her way. But where she might have demanded the answer with a Dresmondi, Citra tempered herself now with an Eldouir and tried not to think of how little she had to give someone who might want anything in the world.

What didn't she want? Elena wanted the world. Lorendale had not been able to provide what she wanted and though Dresmond had come closer, she was Queen after all, it still didn't scratch that itch. She was born with that innate Eldouir desire for power and influence. It was bred into her blood and beat into her head and body since she was an infant.

But what did she want from Citra? "Your company," the Queen answered. Though the answer was nearly as direct as the woman's question had been there was a look in her eyes that one might not expect coming for Elena. Loneliness. Her brows pulled together as the expression grew even more noticeable before she pulled her gaze away from the young lady. "Forget it," she took back her answer. "Be on your way, but" she pulled a medium sized sack that had been tied at her hip. She had begun to take at least one of these with her each time she left the estate. "Take this with you."

She offered the sack to the young woman, expecting Citra to be the one to move closer to take it. Inside was a fresh loaf of bread, some dried meats, fruits, and a few vegetables. There was also a little box which contained some sweet little candies that had been made in the estate.

At the queen’s words, Citra froze. She knew the way the world worked, knew firsthand what a request for company meant. Enabled by the depravity of the redheads like the one standing before her, Elderkeep was full of people who indiscriminately sought the company of anyone who caught their eye, and as a lone, young— There was a reason Citra’s hand was always quick to fall to the dagger on her thigh. But she couldn’t fight her way free of Elena Eldouir.

As it turned out, however, she didn’t have to: the queen changed her mind a moment later and even wanted to give her something in turn. Caution warring with disbelief, the teenager watched as the older woman’s hands fell to a sack at her hip, watched as she untied it and held it out to her. Hesitating, expecting a trap, Citra eyed her outstretched hand before glancing up at the queen’s face, trying to see what game she was playing. No one, especially an Eldouir, offered anything for free. Even the fact that Elena could kill her from afar was tempered by the fact that the redheads loved playing with their food before they ate it.

However, Citra couldn’t turn her down, either. Slowly, with the caution of a house cat approaching wolf, she approached, and when she was close enough, she snatched the satchel from Elena’s hand as if the queen might change her mind yet again. A quick peek inside as she backed away a couple steps had her brow furrowing in confusion. Wary and caught off guard, she looked back up at the queen, dark gaze searching for an explanation in her expression.

Citra remembered her manners a moment later - “Thank you, your majesty.” - and the dismissal a moment after that. Far be it from her to linger around an Eldouir any longer than necessary, even one who had apparently seen fit to gift her food. Unless Elena decided to stop her, she would back away a few more steps, then turn to run away, her apple in one hand and her prize held tightly in the other.