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  1. - Top - End - #91
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    "It's terrible! All the flowers bloom out of season and they've got a mosque operating in the break room and the contracts are four-dimensional labyrinths with all kinds of batsh*t clauses hidden inside full stops and I'm pretty sure the owner is literally the fallen angel Lucifer," said Abbey. "And I'm ninety percent sure that all the cars have either animals or people or whatever trapped inside them, partly like a possession thing, or maybe a human smuggling thing, and Lucifer sent me a Valentines Day card and even though I threw it in the trash it keeps winding up on my shelf!"

    She pointed at the cute pink card that read "I can't BEAR to be without you".
    "Huh. That's weird. Mind if I take a look?" Aelas goes over to inspect the little pink bear card. Is it glamoured? If it's not, is there some sort of extra glamour on Abbey that ought not to be there?
    School Fox by Atlur

    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    Anarion's right on the money here.
    Quotes

    "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
    Oscar Wilde Writer & Poet (1891)

  2. - Top - End - #92
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    The Pilgrim takes one $20 out of a wad of tightly-bound bills, and sets the plate down at his (presumably still extant) feet. He reaches up, takes his (long, slender, grey) finger between his teeth and bites down. I do not need to tell you how hard he bites down. You already know.

    He takes the bill and smears his blood across Mary Reibey's face. (Please do not ask the Pilgrim who Mary Reibey is. He does not know. He does not know about her famously successful shipping ventures, or her conviction for horse theft as a teenage orphan. He does not know why she was chosen to be on the back of the lobster, or why there's a ship sticking out of her shoulder.) Once it is coated, grisly, wretched, he folds it once and presses it as carefully as a child saving a leaf in a scrapbook. This folded bill is returned to the plate as a new item, value added.
    freedom in the flame

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    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

  3. - Top - End - #93
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    Lily, this sounds close enough to a flashback to Arcadia that that I'm going to ask for a Clarity check. Only two dice because it's not aimed directly at you, but any success means you take one point of temporary Clarity damage. If you fail the roll you can keep your sh*t together without having it overwhelm you.
    [Rolling Clarity: 2, 4]

    Lily empties her wallet of cash for the collection, it's not a vast amount but there are a couple of sizable notes, crisp and brand new, folded exactly in the middle. She adds a photo of her old house, a little reluctantly, as well as a small note with her name and number neatly written in flawless cursive.
    "For love is no part of the dreamworld. Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."
    ~ Neil Gaiman

    "Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it at the time."
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  4. - Top - End - #94
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    Each of you, what do you place upon the plate, if anything? And particularly to the thief Jack Gladwin, do you steal anything when it passes through your hands?
    Not to be outdone by Lily, Jack mimics her gesture like a mirror. Not that he has anything more to give, but what he has, he dumps into the bowl without a twinge of hesitation ... he can steal more, in fact he probably stole everything he just gave in the first place, so in a way he's just giving it back.

    Not that Jack is a kleptomaniac, mind you.

    But yes, he does nick a thing of two, since you ask. That photo Lily put in, for one ... it mysteriously vanishes into one of his pockets. And if there's someone else who seems to be putting something in the bowl that they're really going to regret giving up, he nicks that too.
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  5. - Top - End - #95
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    The Flower Knight's Tale

    "I'm in the middle of scoping the site out when I notice rubbish in the swamp. Kitchy love stuff, a whole lot of it - like a shop emptied its Valentines display into the lake. Hearts and bears and flowers in a sickly pink-white heap amidst the reeds. At the time I don't think too much of it as anything other than a landmark - though it did strike me as odd the way a rotten tree had formed almost an archway above it.

    I put it to one side as I noticed a steep hill with a road running along it. The idea occurred to me that if a car were to be heading down that hill towards the lake, and were their brakes to be cut, and were the barrier to be removed - well, that person would be neck deep in swampy water. The process of arranging for Antony to be driving down that hill was rather a bit more involved. I made a few small bargains, arranged for the right kind of disturbance, caused an unrelated few accidents to close off alternate pathways, and soon enough he was rolling down the hill towards the silty mangroves and I was ready to make my play."

    Quote Originally Posted by Anarion View Post
    "Huh. That's weird. Mind if I take a look?" Aelas goes over to inspect the little pink bear card. Is it glamoured? If it's not, is there some sort of extra glamour on Abbey that ought not to be there?
    Aelas, how could you possibly tell? Not only do you lack two dots of Intelligence to rub together you also lack any skill in Occult. You're not a Mage, you have absolutely zero way to gather information about potentially cursed greeting cards without doing the proper fairy tale thing in this situation: Taking it to a wizard.

    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    The Pilgrim takes one $20 out of a wad of tightly-bound bills, and sets the plate down at his (presumably still extant) feet. He reaches up, takes his (long, slender, grey) finger between his teeth and bites down. I do not need to tell you how hard he bites down. You already know.

    He takes the bill and smears his blood across Mary Reibey's face. (Please do not ask the Pilgrim who Mary Reibey is. He does not know. He does not know about her famously successful shipping ventures, or her conviction for horse theft as a teenage orphan. He does not know why she was chosen to be on the back of the lobster, or why there's a ship sticking out of her shoulder.) Once it is coated, grisly, wretched, he folds it once and presses it as carefully as a child saving a leaf in a scrapbook. This folded bill is returned to the plate as a new item, value added.
    Quote Originally Posted by Elanorin View Post
    [Rolling Clarity: 2, 4]

    Lily empties her wallet of cash for the collection, it's not a vast amount but there are a couple of sizable notes, crisp and brand new, folded exactly in the middle. She adds a photo of her old house, a little reluctantly, as well as a small note with her name and number neatly written in flawless cursive.
    Quote Originally Posted by stveje View Post
    Not to be outdone by Lily, Jack mimics her gesture like a mirror. Not that he has anything more to give, but what he has, he dumps into the bowl without a twinge of hesitation ... he can steal more, in fact he probably stole everything he just gave in the first place, so in a way he's just giving it back.

    Not that Jack is a kleptomaniac, mind you.

    But yes, he does nick a thing of two, since you ask. That photo Lily put in, for one ... it mysteriously vanishes into one of his pockets. And if there's someone else who seems to be putting something in the bowl that they're really going to regret giving up, he nicks that too.
    Jack, the only thing that you find yourself compelled to rescue from the plate is when April, the dancer you were speaking to, puts her solidity on the plate.

    It's remarkably unflashy, dealing with conceptuals. The Market's strange logic smooths all barriers to trade, allowing people to offer memories or emotions up as currency - the thing just needs to be infused in a physical token and April is putting that part of herself into a big heavy brick on the plate. Immediately she becomes vaguer, more transparent - and while she seems relieved right now, you're fairly sure that's not the sort of thing one will regret in the long term.

    Palming a brick is a little tricky but no one's looking for you specifically - so it just happens. Could put out a decent window with this.

    The plate returns to the unshifting mass of Autumn, and the last one to place a screwdriver on the surface gives it to the Pilgrim as though he is expected to take it, count it, keep it safe. Some sort of veiled decision, or a test of some kind? Either way it feels light - it's heavy, but it doesn't feel quite heavy enough.

    "Thank you for your contributions," rustles the voice that must be the King of Autumn. "The next order of business is the matter of human sacrifice."

    The King of Summer was on his feet, and behind him was an army. A low steady drumbeat began as the temper of the army visibly rose with the King of Autumn's cool words.

    "A simple vote," said the King. "Yes or no. Are the Courts open to the idea of killing in exchange for protection, in any form?"

    Every eye in the hall turns to face Jack Gladwin - custom is in matters like these that the seasons vote in their cycles, and Winter shall be the first to raise its voice. You might be able to take a moment to confer if you want, but everyone waits breathlessly to see what you say.
    Last edited by Thanqol; 2018-03-21 at 11:58 PM.

  6. - Top - End - #96
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    Aelas, how could you possibly tell? Not only do you lack two dots of Intelligence to rub together you also lack any skill in Occult. You're not a Mage, you have absolutely zero way to gather information about potentially cursed greeting cards without doing the proper fairy tale thing in this situation: Taking it to a wizard.
    Kenning. It's a clarity thing.

    Glamor 2/10
    Clarity: 5/6 (mild damage)
    Health: 6/6
    Willpower: 5/6
    Last edited by Anarion; 2018-03-22 at 02:36 AM.
    School Fox by Atlur

    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    Anarion's right on the money here.
    Quotes

    "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
    Oscar Wilde Writer & Poet (1891)

  7. - Top - End - #97
    Colossus in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Anarion View Post
    Kenning. It's a clarity thing.
    You know, in a decade of Changeling that's the first time anyone's ever used that power?

    The card is supernatural. That's all you get, though - just that it is in some way magical.

  8. - Top - End - #98
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    The card is supernatural. That's all you get, though - just that it is in some way magical.
    See, now we know we need a wizard. Actually, let me ask a general question here. How do Changelings figure out glamoured stuff? I mean, like, is there a cabal floating around that charges a fee for this? Will word get out? What's the price for this sort of thing, or is this a bespoke job at the goblin market?

    "Huh. I'll, uh, look into this. Mind if I keep the card? I mean, it might end up back with you, but I'm gonna try and hold onto it and get somebody to look at it. It's definitely magic, like for sure."

    Aelas walks to the kitchen with her Peter Rabbit mug and rinses it with a little water in the sink. Runs a hand wistfully along the handle before putting it in the nearby wrack to dry. "This was fun, Abs. I'm sorry you got freaked out earlier, just let me know if those guys come back. Better yet, text me a photo if you see them again, maybe I can do something about it."

    Okay, let me tell you about priorities. Aelas has three, and they're competing. One: go see Lily like the Pilgrim said. That was probably at that big town hall meeting that was supposed to be happening. Two: go to a party and have fun! (also glamour) Three: go to whoever it is that might help with this card thing so she can help Abbey out. So, what are those options looking like in this one-horse town?

    [Also, scene spent with Touchstone, so healing the Clarity damage.]

    Glamor 2/10
    Clarity: 6/6
    Health: 6/6
    Willpower: 5/6
    School Fox by Atlur

    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    Anarion's right on the money here.
    Quotes

    "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
    Oscar Wilde Writer & Poet (1891)

  9. - Top - End - #99
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    The Pilgrim does not have words for the tanglebrush inside of him. If you could hear them, they would sound something like this.

    Spoiler: under a black hood above a golden plate
    Show
    Human sacrifice is bad, right? The Aztecs did that. Tore people's hearts out. That's the sort of stuff the bad guys do in Indiana Jones films, and we should know better than that.
    I have killed someone many times but they never were allowed to stay dead.
    Would I kill someone to protect Aelas?
    I don't want to answer that.
    Yes, I would.
    Would I kill someone innocent?
    Would I kill a child to protect Aelas?
    I don't want to think about that.
    I don't know.
    I have killed over and over and over again.
    The ones that stayed dead were the animals. That we ate. So that we could keep walking. Keep going. For strength. Some of the plants, too. Do living plants count as things that can be killed?
    That's not what they're talking about.
    That's not what they're going to do.
    What we're going to do.
    I can imagine walking up to the Big Bad Moon and taking his head in my hands and twisting it until the spinal cord snaps. I can imagine it so vividly that my fingers itch. I can imagine a world in which I would do this.
    I am a member of this team.
    A team fights and dies together.
    Would I kill a child to protect Aelas?
    Please don't ask me. Please.
    Say no. Stop this from happening. Stop this from being a thing I have to consider, because I don't know whose side to take.
    If Winter and Summer and- Spring's going to say no, obviously- if everyone says no, I don't have to decide.
    The Huntsmen are here. Already. What if they take Aelas
    what if
    what if I'm not there when they come for jack
    for lily
    how is lily going to fight them, fight predators, real predators that look like humans but they're not and I can't be there for her all the time
    please stop
    I don't want to think about this
    Say something
    Breathe
    to protect them I would cast myself into the fire and let myself burn away and I can feel it under my hands and
    no that's the collection plate
    Breathe
    Breathe
    This shouldn't even be something that we're talking about.
    But it is.
    So I have to deal with this.
    I have to decide.
    I have to know what I would pick.
    But I do not need to know right now.
    I will leave this place, later.
    I will find Zotzie, probably behind the Fairchild house digging through empty wine bottles.
    We'll talk over something I fish out of the dumpster, out by the railroad tracks.
    And I can think about this where the air is cold and there's just the two of us, old sinners cast out of hell.
    Am I old now?
    I feel older.
    Maybe this is what everyone in this room feels like.
    Older. Broken at the edges.
    You feel like this, you could do a lot.
    Don't think about it now.
    Breathe.


    The Pilgrim holds the collection plate, dutiful, ever able to serve when called upon. He does not speak. But that is what we have come to expect from him, so this is hardly noteworthy at all.
    freedom in the flame

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    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

  10. - Top - End - #100
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    "Thank you for your contributions," rustles the voice that must be the King of Autumn. "The next order of business is the matter of human sacrifice."

    The King of Summer was on his feet, and behind him was an army. A low steady drumbeat began as the temper of the army visibly rose with the King of Autumn's cool words.

    "A simple vote," said the King. "Yes or no. Are the Courts open to the idea of killing in exchange for protection, in any form?"

    Every eye in the hall turns to face Jack Gladwin - custom is in matters like these that the seasons vote in their cycles, and Winter shall be the first to raise its voice. You might be able to take a moment to confer if you want, but everyone waits breathlessly to see what you say.
    Jack does take a moment to look around at the gathered Winter court. Although he's not looking for a debate, he does want to gauge his court's mood on the topic.
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  11. - Top - End - #101
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by stveje View Post
    Jack does take a moment to look around at the gathered Winter court. Although he's not looking for a debate, he does want to gauge his court's mood on the topic.
    Lily's eyes widened more than ever at the mention of human sacrifice. Her heart, that had barely had a chance to settle down, raced once more in her chest. For once she looked up and sought to find Jack's eyes with her own, she didn't hide her worry and as if her feelings on the matter were not already written plainly on her face she shook her head slightly.

    Don't. Don't.
    "For love is no part of the dreamworld. Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."
    ~ Neil Gaiman

    "Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it at the time."
    ~ Snow Patrol



  12. - Top - End - #102
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    The Flower Knight's Tale

    "Into the water Antony goes. He struggles out but the water's up to his neck and I'm closing in on him. He's panicking and wading further and further into the dark waters of the lake. I keep a steady pace following him. No quickness or trickery when you're up to your neck in water. Raw strength and stamina is all that matters at that point, so I just start wading him down.

    "Then he goes below the water.

    "I kicked myself and doubled my speed. Was there a crocodile in this swamp? Why hadn't I accounted for that? I didn't want to lose the Master's property to some dumb reptile. I heard splashing and shouting and pushed through the reeds just in time to see Antony being dragged by the feet over the stack of cards and roses into the archway formed by the tree. Just before he's dragged through he looks me in the eyes and asks me for help.

    "Then he went through. And the hunt was over. He was gone. I was free. I only stopped to pick up one of the greeting cards on my way out. It was damp and rotten but I could still make out the signature - Love, Jack."

    Quote Originally Posted by Anarion View Post
    See, now we know we need a wizard. Actually, let me ask a general question here. How do Changelings figure out glamoured stuff? I mean, like, is there a cabal floating around that charges a fee for this? Will word get out? What's the price for this sort of thing, or is this a bespoke job at the goblin market?

    "Huh. I'll, uh, look into this. Mind if I keep the card? I mean, it might end up back with you, but I'm gonna try and hold onto it and get somebody to look at it. It's definitely magic, like for sure."

    Aelas walks to the kitchen with her Peter Rabbit mug and rinses it with a little water in the sink. Runs a hand wistfully along the handle before putting it in the nearby wrack to dry. "This was fun, Abs. I'm sorry you got freaked out earlier, just let me know if those guys come back. Better yet, text me a photo if you see them again, maybe I can do something about it."

    Okay, let me tell you about priorities. Aelas has three, and they're competing. One: go see Lily like the Pilgrim said. That was probably at that big town hall meeting that was supposed to be happening. Two: go to a party and have fun! (also glamour) Three: go to whoever it is that might help with this card thing so she can help Abbey out. So, what are those options looking like in this one-horse town?

    [Also, scene spent with Touchstone, so healing the Clarity damage.]
    The meeting is fairly easy to get to, Pilgrim's warnings notwithstanding. While you're fairly sure the Spring Court would react strongly to your personal life being invaded by magic - they're really strongly against that - the Queen would probably try to re-frame it into getting rid of your Fetch. Unlike the interaction Pilgrim recently had with her which was very telling rather than suggesting, she's been remarkably compassionate and patient with you on the topic. The Mantle makes it easy for her to like you, and very easy for you to like her, but she's deeply of the opinion that Fetches are all ticking time bombs.

    Parties are frequent in Prosperpine - in the spring and summer. When the weather is warm and the tourists flood the town then the beach is full of holidaymakers and students on summer vacation. Right now, though, it's a few weeks into the school term and the next holiday is going to be Easter, by which point it'll be a freezing twenty one degrees Celsius. It's the worst time of year to go looking for celebrations.

    Your third question is most easily answered at the Goblin Market. Changelings might know and might help but they also might not - or get tangled in with their own opinions or passions or damage. Each court has learned individuals but there's no way to know if they're professionals or frauds. The Market is your sole sane service provider.

    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    The Pilgrim does not have words for the tanglebrush inside of him. If you could hear them, they would sound something like this.

    The Pilgrim holds the collection plate, dutiful, ever able to serve when called upon. He does not speak. But that is what we have come to expect from him, so this is hardly noteworthy at all.
    Though the courtiers of Autumn that you stand among appear a clustered monolith, unified and unbreakable and cooly dispassionate, here in the centre you can feel their fear flow like waves. Each of them is tracing a similar tense internal monologue to you; each of them is a bundle of nerves and tension, wondering just how far they'd go if truly pushed. The fear rolls and crests like a silent symphony, and you are a voice in that choir.

    Good news and bad news, then. The bad news is that this is close enough to a vivid flashback that it's going to force a clarity roll - a base of two dice, plus another two due to the feedback loop of strong emotions for a total of four. You're only up for one point of temporary clarity damage.

    Quote Originally Posted by stveje View Post
    Jack does take a moment to look around at the gathered Winter court. Although he's not looking for a debate, he does want to gauge his court's mood on the topic.
    Quote Originally Posted by Elanorin View Post
    Lily's eyes widened more than ever at the mention of human sacrifice. Her heart, that had barely had a chance to settle down, raced once more in her chest. For once she looked up and sought to find Jack's eyes with her own, she didn't hide her worry and as if her feelings on the matter were not already written plainly on her face she shook her head slightly.

    Don't. Don't.
    The majority of the Winter court looks some combination of afraid or disgusted. The only real outlier is Bigby Moon who gives you a big grin with glittering teeth and a corresponding thumbs up.

    You get the distinctive vibe that the motion is as much threat as opinion. He's a large man and accustomed to violence.

  13. - Top - End - #103
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    [Two successes on that Clarity roll, so one point of temporary Clarity damage ho.]

    Do you know how the Pilgrim survived? Of course you do. I have not allowed you to forget at any point, because it is painted into his very bones. Not the burning of his skin, no: he survived by subsuming himself into the role he played on behalf of those he cared about. He threw himself into the purifying flame not because he wanted to be free, but because it was what his company of the damned and the repentant required. He fought tooth and nail, bone-breaker and eye-gouger, in order to free those who the games judged worthy.

    How do you think Zotzie flew to freedom, beyond the condemning eyes of the stars?

    There is a common refrain, and it goes like this: I was only following orders. There is a following chord: you needed me to do this.

    And none of us want a Pilgrim who thinks only in terms of those he serves and those he breaks.

    Health 9/9
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    Willpower 5/6
    Clarity: 1t/5
    Last edited by Raz_Fox; 2018-03-28 at 01:32 PM.
    freedom in the flame

    Spoiler
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    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

  14. - Top - End - #104
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    No parties. At least none found easily. Vague feelings of how ridiculous this one-horse town was stirred in Aelas' memory. She'd felt that way before she left. Maybe Abbey still did, but she'd stayed and went to school here anyway. Maybe it was because Daddy made things so nice. Lucky he hadn't been home though, that would have been like, super duper hard to explain.

    Aelas decided that she'd have to get her friends and all go drinking tonight and they'd just have their own fun! Yeah! Well, at any rate, that was eventually the plan. The market would come after, when she wasn't so starving, and when she found something good to trade. Like, maybe she could find the end of a rainbow, or a the last shard of an exploding sun that had made its way to earth. Or some cookies, she bet cookies would trade really well at the market, especially chocolate chip.

    But right now, she needed to find those friends first. Isaac had told her to find Lily, and she figured that everyone was still all gathered together. And since they were all grouped up and doing formal stuff, it was probably pretty safe. So, when she called herself a car (Butterfly was now taking the night off unless there was a capital E Emergency), she had it take her right to the big meeting hall, got out in front and walked right in. Then she looked around for Lily and walked over to her and waved hi!
    School Fox by Atlur

    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    Anarion's right on the money here.
    Quotes

    "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
    Oscar Wilde Writer & Poet (1891)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    The majority of the Winter court looks some combination of afraid or disgusted. The only real outlier is Bigby Moon who gives you a big grin with glittering teeth and a corresponding thumbs up.

    You get the distinctive vibe that the motion is as much threat as opinion. He's a large man and accustomed to violence.
    Jack tried not to let Bigby's glittering grin haunt him as he turned back to the room, and all the expectant eyes fixed upon him. What had he done to be in this situation? Maybe he should have kicked the King out of his bed and told him to get his act together, but that just wasn't Jack's style ... bossing people around like that. He sighed inwardly and took a second to close his eyes and compose himself, then he opened his eyes again and said, "Winter votes no to human sacrifice. I don't see how it serves anyone but our enemies to cull our numbers." He might have said more, but at that moment Aelas entered the room.
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    "So what happened then?" asked Longarms.
    "Story for another time," said Mercia, getting to her feet. "We should check out that building that just caught fire."

    Quote Originally Posted by Anarion View Post
    No parties. At least none found easily. Vague feelings of how ridiculous this one-horse town was stirred in Aelas' memory. She'd felt that way before she left. Maybe Abbey still did, but she'd stayed and went to school here anyway. Maybe it was because Daddy made things so nice. Lucky he hadn't been home though, that would have been like, super duper hard to explain.

    Aelas decided that she'd have to get her friends and all go drinking tonight and they'd just have their own fun! Yeah! Well, at any rate, that was eventually the plan. The market would come after, when she wasn't so starving, and when she found something good to trade. Like, maybe she could find the end of a rainbow, or a the last shard of an exploding sun that had made its way to earth. Or some cookies, she bet cookies would trade really well at the market, especially chocolate chip.

    But right now, she needed to find those friends first. Isaac had told her to find Lily, and she figured that everyone was still all gathered together. And since they were all grouped up and doing formal stuff, it was probably pretty safe. So, when she called herself a car (Butterfly was now taking the night off unless there was a capital E Emergency), she had it take her right to the big meeting hall, got out in front and walked right in. Then she looked around for Lily and walked over to her and waved hi!
    For a moment there is a total hush, and then a terrified reorganization as the band of the Summer Court rustles into position behind the King. The King of Summer's face twists and rolls and boils like he is trying to chew through his own teeth. The scream builds inside him. He clenches his whole body forwards, and then with a great ripping motion he roars.

    The ground heaves. Windows shatter. Great gusts of smoke erupt into the air.

    The building catches fire, igniting all about on chairs and walls and carpet. The most skittish leave instantly - most of the Spring Court, but fewer than might be thought from Autumn, as they cluster closer together for protection. Music begins to howl, drums begin to beat, stomping feet begin to keep the time, and like an avalanche the King of Summer walks towards Aelas.

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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    For a moment there is a total hush, and then a terrified reorganization as the band of the Summer Court rustles into position behind the King. The King of Summer's face twists and rolls and boils like he is trying to chew through his own teeth. The scream builds inside him. He clenches his whole body forwards, and then with a great ripping motion he roars.

    The ground heaves. Windows shatter. Great gusts of smoke erupt into the air.

    The building catches fire, igniting all about on chairs and walls and carpet. The most skittish leave instantly - most of the Spring Court, but fewer than might be thought from Autumn, as they cluster closer together for protection. Music begins to howl, drums begin to beat, stomping feet begin to keep the time, and like an avalanche the King of Summer walks towards Aelas.
    I suppose this ought to be scary, and like, for sure there's real threat going here. But you gotta keep a couple things in mind here. First, this is either the same or a very similar power to the thing Aelas can do herself (I mean, she even just did it for freebie jeebies earlier today) so that's a bit less intimidating. Second, flying in and around cosmic storms was totes a thing as Herald of the Cosmic Dragon. You don't fly into the fireball, but she's a lot less intimidated by this than she was by, like, the fact that Static almost paralyzed her, or the big group all jumping on Butterfly earlier.

    Aelas looks around for Lily, sees her with Jack and the Winter folks and starts retreating that way, at least insofar as "that way" remains not on fire. She also starts talking real fast. "Hey, so, uh, hi, Summer King, right? You look really kingly, nice crown, very pretty. There's been a teensy tinsy misunderstanding..." (vaults backwards over a chair and tumbles it down in his way) "...see, I didn't kidnap anyone, kinda. Static was the only one I sorta kidnapped, and it was cuz she got really, really stuck to my car while she was asleep, and then she tried to kidnap me so I left her to walk back from Newcastle, but she's totally fine and you could probably even find her along the road if you know the road better than I do." Aelas makes a shooing motion towards any courtiers in the way of where she's headed so they don't get caught up. "Also! there's, like, some huntsmen or something, like a chick and a guy in weiiird armor and I...uh, sorta knew where they were a while ago, but maybe that's who you're looking for? But definitely not me because I didn't kidnap anybody, except Static and that was totally an accident and everybody there is fine!"
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    Anarion's right on the money here.
    Quotes

    "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
    Oscar Wilde Writer & Poet (1891)

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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Lily watches it all unfold as if in slow motion. A train wreck set for destruction with nothin in its path to stop it. With a courage that came from nowhere other than the warmth of that single shared laughter of the fractured court of winter and the deep desire for order and accountability, Lily makes her way over to Aelas, flinching at the flying embers and bits of debris, stopping just in front of her as the King came barrelling towards them.

    "S-so, as was agreed, each court investigates. Th-that just remains agreeing the date on wh-which the findings are to be concluded and reported, that is, our next meeting. Care t-to name it, Your Grace?" Lily took out a pen and a piece of paper, ready to note down a date, her hands shaking visibly, as was indeed most of her. She was utterly unable to look up, and fixed her eyes on the little scribble the point of the trembling pen was making, set to the paper.
    "For love is no part of the dreamworld. Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."
    ~ Neil Gaiman

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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Let me talk for a moment about kiths. A kith, when you get down to it, to the very bone, is just a reflection of your story, written across your body. It will never leave you, and it will never let you forget- except. Except there is magic that lets you change what your story could have been.

    Take the Pilgrim. His story is the journey through the wilderness, acting as the guide and the pathfinder, unmatched in speed and power- except that now, his kith asks: what would have become of Isaac had he been the watcher of the stars, the keeper of secrets and untold stories? What if his burn-pocked skin was grey, rubbery, his deep dark flame-lit sockets overlarge ovals? He is something not quite an extraterrestrial visitor and not quite a lizard, covered in esoterica that will never fade.

    For this reason, we will forgive him when he attempts to leap in front of the King of Summer, his too-short nails scrabbling and failing to turn his burning, hunched form, and he goes careening into several hastily-vacated chairs. He is accustomed to a different shape and a different story.

    Here he comes now, pride battered, hood still low, fire in his teeth and spreading heedlessly across his shoulders. And he is frightened. He is frightened indeed.

    He is afraid of what will happen if the king takes a step more, and declares war against the Pilgrim, unmoving and resolute.
    freedom in the flame

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    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
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    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
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    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
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    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    The two huntsmen jog down the shrouded night street, making their way between the puddles of light cast by golden hued streetlamps. Their breath runs heavy and hot, and they feel as though surrounded by a shield of heat against the chill. Their saliva tastes like refined sugar as exertion sucks the moisture from their mouths and the hunger of their distant hearts echoes against their coldly reasoning minds.

    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    Let me talk for a moment about kiths. A kith, when you get down to it, to the very bone, is just a reflection of your story, written across your body. It will never leave you, and it will never let you forget- except. Except there is magic that lets you change what your story could have been.

    Take the Pilgrim. His story is the journey through the wilderness, acting as the guide and the pathfinder, unmatched in speed and power- except that now, his kith asks: what would have become of Isaac had he been the watcher of the stars, the keeper of secrets and untold stories? What if his burn-pocked skin was grey, rubbery, his deep dark flame-lit sockets overlarge ovals? He is something not quite an extraterrestrial visitor and not quite a lizard, covered in esoterica that will never fade.

    For this reason, we will forgive him when he attempts to leap in front of the King of Summer, his too-short nails scrabbling and failing to turn his burning, hunched form, and he goes careening into several hastily-vacated chairs. He is accustomed to a different shape and a different story.

    Here he comes now, pride battered, hood still low, fire in his teeth and spreading heedlessly across his shoulders. And he is frightened. He is frightened indeed.

    He is afraid of what will happen if the king takes a step more, and declares war against the Pilgrim, unmoving and resolute.
    Autumn is dragged into the fray alongside you.

    They don't want to force this confrontation - they dearly wish for anything otherwise. They're terrified, doubting, unstable, every one of them. But they also know that their greatest strength is the infliction of that same uncertainty on everyone around them while revealing none of their own. So, like the trail of water carved in the air by a soaking-wet whip, Autumn is dragged in your wake. It takes a moment for that sinuous motion of robes and fabric to twist itself back into a shape, and then the desperate, fearful determination to puff itself up and stand tall in defiance. The fear has crystalized into such a shape: backing down and losing the illusion of invincibility would be far the more dangerous course than revealing weakness and disunity.

    To those not in sync with the falling of the leaves, however, a quiet army of robed figures forms around Aelas, silent and tall and unflinching in the face of the inferno.

    The King of Summer's eyes are alight. His fists tighten. Words splash against his face like water and sizzle away in steam. Everything about him is violence and his pained eye darts about swiftly behind its iron monocle. He does not strike - no one does. The act is impossible; the Crown forbids this of the royalty who sign on to its stories.

    "This is treason," he said with uncanny stillness. "You are rebels. And I shall deal with this by way of war."

    His finger strikes out like a thunderbolt, pointing at Lily. "You. Schedule the next meeting for three days. Everyone who wishes to prostate themselves before me and beg my forgiveness may do so. The traitors shall be delivered to me for punishment. After that time passes then there shall be open war between the army of Summer and all those who have dared rebellion."

    Ultimatum declared, the King of Summer steps atop the crouching back of a giant and, so borne aloft, takes his entire Court with him from the hall.
    Last edited by Thanqol; 2018-04-03 at 10:03 PM.

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    Well that was terrifying.

    Date set for public humiliation en-masse and the commencement of civil war: March 28th.


    Lily wiped the wet from her eyes and scribbled down a quick note on the paper, partly to follow through on the action the summoning of the pen and paper had begun and partly in case the current overdose of adrenaline in her blood wiped every last syllable of the instruction she had just been given from her memory. Her heart was beating so hard in her chest and she was still shaking, the handwriting turned out barely legible.

    He didn't say where.

    Lily looked up at the state of what had been such a pleasant building moments before. It was such a shame, yet somehow a perfect representation of how the meeting had gone.

    Somewhere less flammable.

    "You should get out of here, it's not safe," she said to Isaac and Aelas over her shoulder, not turning to face either, then went about doing exactly that herself. No comment as to what had just happened. Normally having Isaac this close would give Lily pause but there was no trace of hesitation in her now as she left him to get out of the ruined building.

    She looked for Jack, she doubted he needed help but she wanted to grab him and let him know to reconvene back at the house before he disappeared.
    Last edited by Elanorin; 2018-04-04 at 05:45 PM.
    "For love is no part of the dreamworld. Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."
    ~ Neil Gaiman

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    ~ Snow Patrol



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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Aelas blinks. "Hey, were you even listening?!" She shouts at the departing summer king. Looks around. Isaac was there, but so was Lily, and Isaac had told her to go find Lily. So, she took the most obvious course of action. She walked over to Lily, took whichever arm Lily wasn't writing with in both hands and held onto her, then looked over at Isaac. "I found Lily!" she said with a smile. "What now? Can we, like, go to a party or something? Also I need to figure out this weird magic greeting card thing. And uh...how did the meeting go before, uh, that thing that just happened happened?"
    Last edited by Anarion; 2018-04-04 at 01:32 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    Anarion's right on the money here.
    Quotes

    "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
    Oscar Wilde Writer & Poet (1891)

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    Between the hammer and the anvil indeed, this. Now that Aelas is safe- the fool, the absent-minded lamb- our friend has a moment to catch his breath and consider the depth of his troubles, the horns that he finds himself pierced upon: on the one side, the fact that he has just dragged all of Autumn to Aelas’s defense, and yet Autumn did not offer him up as a sacrifice to placate the ravening King. Unity, and yet here is one impulsive fool acting for the whole. On the other: that the King of Summer threatens war if he is not offered up traitors.

    There may be no traitors to hand. And our friend, he will not frame another. So the question becomes, then: will the lot of them run? If not, then death looms like a heavy shadow in front of Isaac.

    “I accept Autumn’s decision. No matter its cost,” Isaac whispers. “For them. I will pay for all.”

    His bulk shifts, his head seeking another hidden in the robes: Kaitlin. His skin itches to return to its now-familiar monstrosity. Then he means to seize Aelas up and carry her out, hopefully accompanied by Lily. He has a friend to consult.
    freedom in the flame

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    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

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    The two Huntsmen clamber atop a rooftop like spiders. Again the gleaming sights of Longarms' rifle observes the motion of the hall and the Changelings emerging from a distance. The two are silent, counting, memorizing faces and forms.

    Quote Originally Posted by Anarion View Post
    Aelas blinks. "Hey, were you even listening?!"
    He was not.

    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    Between the hammer and the anvil indeed, this. Now that Aelas is safe- the fool, the absent-minded lamb- our friend has a moment to catch his breath and consider the depth of his troubles, the horns that he finds himself pierced upon: on the one side, the fact that he has just dragged all of Autumn to Aelas’s defense, and yet Autumn did not offer him up as a sacrifice to placate the ravening King. Unity, and yet here is one impulsive fool acting for the whole. On the other: that the King of Summer threatens war if he is not offered up traitors.

    There may be no traitors to hand. And our friend, he will not frame another. So the question becomes, then: will the lot of them run? If not, then death looms like a heavy shadow in front of Isaac.

    “I accept Autumn’s decision. No matter its cost,” Isaac whispers. “For them. I will pay for all.”

    His bulk shifts, his head seeking another hidden in the robes: Kaitlin. His skin itches to return to its now-familiar monstrosity. Then he means to seize Aelas up and carry her out, hopefully accompanied by Lily. He has a friend to consult.
    A contract with mirrors momentarily blurs the room to obscure which of the robed figures of Autumn has released from its armoured unity. Murmured whispers of support, doubt, and fear brush your mind, overlapping; a murmured conversation you evesdrop on uncertainly. They begin to drift away, locked in their internal discussion, trying to imagine the best way for them to move forwards.

    The courtiers of Spring are diligently putting out the fires that have beset the hall with extinguishers and contracts that call upon sweet spring-time rain falling gently from the roof of the hall. Overall the chemical tang and cold water makes this an unattractive place to hold further discussions and those not directly engaged are making their way out to the street and parking lot.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Anarion View Post
    Aelas blinks. "Hey, were you even listening?!" She shouts at the departing summer king. Looks around. Isaac was there, but so was Lily, and Isaac had told her to go find Lily. So, she took the most obvious course of action. She walked over to Lily, took whichever arm Lily wasn't writing with in both hands and held onto her, then looked over at Isaac. "I found Lily!" she said with a smile. "What now? Can we, like, go to a party or something? Also I need to figure out this weird magic greeting card thing. And uh...how did the meeting go before, uh, that thing that just happened happened?"
    Lily was more than a little surprised at feeling her arm being grabbed and her already barely legible note gained a sudden scribble all across it before she regained her writing balance to compensate for the yanking and tugging on her arm. There'd been a knee-jerk reaction of fear at the feeling of being grasped but as soon as she recognised the feeling of a normal hand, as opposed to some enormous beastly clawed paw, the feeling quickly melted to annoyance.

    Actual annoyance. Irkdom. The emotion felt shining and new in her veins. She could not remember feeling just plain old narked. It felt... good.

    Note done, Lily put the pen and paper away and went about undoing Aelas hold on her, pulling her arm away, bending her fingers out of their grasp, whatever it took, and then set her shoulders. There was a clear display of disapproval on her face and in her eyes even if they still refrained from rising so high as to Aelas' face.

    "A party? Really, Aelas," Lily's voice was outright frosty, unlike her usual mild and amicable tone, even the air around her was unusually cold.

    She breathed a deep sigh to restore civility to her tone of voice. "I would recommend you find The Queen of the Spring court and spend as much of the next three days as possible preparing your case for her to put to the King of Summer."
    Last edited by Elanorin; 2018-04-05 at 07:00 PM.
    "For love is no part of the dreamworld. Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."
    ~ Neil Gaiman

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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Elanorin View Post
    Lily was more than a little surprised at feeling her arm being grabbed and her already barely legible note gained a sudden scribble all across it before she regained her writing balance to compensate for the yanking and tugging on her arm. There'd been a knee-jerk reaction of fear at the feeling of being grasped but as soon as she recognised the feeling of a normal hand, as opposed to some enormous beastly clawed paw, the feeling quickly melted to annoyance.

    Actual annoyance. Irkdom. The emotion felt shining and new in her veins. She could not remember feeling just plain old narked. It felt... good.

    Note done, Lily put the pen and paper away and went about undoing Aelas hold on her, pulling her arm away, bending her fingers out of their grasp, whatever it took, and then set her shoulders. There was a clear display of disapproval on her face and in her eyes even if they still refrained from rising so high as to Aelas' face.

    "A party? Really, Aelas," Lily's voice was outright frosty, unlike her usual mild and amicable tone, even the air around her was unusually cold.

    She breathed a deep sigh to restore civility to her tone of voice. "I would recommend you find The Queen of the Spring court and spend as much of the next three days as possible preparing your case for her to put to the King of Summer."
    "Yeah a party! I used a ton of glamour today, I'm starving!" Aelas frowns at the mention of spring. "Ugh, do I have to go hang out with them? They're so boooring. Spring isn't s'posed to be like that, y'know?" Aelas' frown turns petulant. "They just do nothing. What's the point of being back if you can't enjoy life?"
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    Anarion's right on the money here.
    Quotes

    "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
    Oscar Wilde Writer & Poet (1891)

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    Quote Originally Posted by Anarion View Post
    "Yeah a party! I used a ton of glamour today, I'm starving!" Aelas frowns at the mention of spring. "Ugh, do I have to go hang out with them? They're so boooring. Spring isn't s'posed to be like that, y'know?" Aelas' frown turns petulant. "They just do nothing. What's the point of being back if you can't enjoy life?"
    Lily closed her eyes for a tiny three-second meditation session.

    "Fine," she conceded reluctantly, "go. Refuel. But seriously, Aelas," and she turned to face the technicoloured party girl and actually meet her gaze, "this is trouble. Real trouble. You need Spring on your side, or there won't be much enjoying of anything soon. First thing in the morning, you go find the Queen. I'll let her know to expect you."

    Oh great, coaxing sense from a moody teenager, torn to pieces by Summer and now tea with the witch? Today really is the day that just keeps on giving.

    "First. Thing."
    Last edited by Elanorin; 2018-04-06 at 03:16 AM.
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    Well, that went ... better than expected?

    Jack was not really paying much attention after the King of Summer left, his feet carrying him in the general direction of wherever Lily and the others were, but their mildly heated discussion simply flowed around him like water around a fish. He took the mirror out of his pocket to see if King Kent was still observing - some part of him hoped for a thumbs up in the shiny little screen, but he actually expected to find the mirror disappointingly blank despite the clear lack of any immediate disaster. He didn't know why he expected this.

    He then looked around for the rest of Winter. Aside from Lily, where had they all gone?
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elanorin View Post
    Lily closed her eyes for a tiny three-second meditation session.

    "Fine," she conceded reluctantly, "go. Refuel. But seriously, Aelas," and she turned to face the technicoloured party girl and actually meet her gaze, "this is trouble. Real trouble. You need Spring on your side, or there won't be much enjoying of anything soon. First thing in the morning, you go find the Queen. I'll let her know to expect you."

    Oh great, coaxing sense from a moody teenager, torn to pieces by Summer and now tea with the witch? Today really is the day that just keeps on giving.

    "First. Thing."
    Aelas rolls her eyes and sighs. "Fiiine. Tea is good at least. Is there a diner around here? Can you have us meet there? If I'm getting up that early, I want eggs and bacon too. Oh, and pancakes. Can they do the ones where they draw a smiley face on them with frosting?"

    Aelas turns to grab Isaac, but then remembers something and turns back to Lily. "Oh, oh! There's a gargoyle girl named Static who's coming into town sometime later. I left her to walk and she's Summer, but like, kinda reasonable, I think? I mean, she'll probably try to paralyze me and drag me off if I go talk to her because she's, um, very focused. But I bet if you go meet her, she'll be, like, reasonable, and maybe you can talk to her about stuff and get her to talk to the Summer court, y'know? I bet they'll listen to their own instead of us. Yeah."

    Now she turns and switches to latching on to Isaac's arm. "Isaac, you're coming drinking with me. No ifs, ans, or buts! Bring your new friends too if you want. Let's go!"
    Last edited by Anarion; 2018-04-06 at 03:26 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    Anarion's right on the money here.
    Quotes

    "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
    Oscar Wilde Writer & Poet (1891)

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    Gender
    Female

    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Anarion View Post
    Aelas rolls her eyes and sighs. "Fiiine. Tea is good at least. Is there a diner around here? Can you have us meet there? If I'm getting up that early, I want eggs and bacon too. Oh, and pancakes. Can they do the ones where they draw a smiley face on them with frosting?"

    Aelas turns to grab Isaac, but then remembers something and turns back to Lily. "Oh, oh! There's a gargoyle girl named Static who's coming into town sometime later. I left her to walk and she's Summer, but like, kinda reasonable, I think? I mean, she'll probably try to paralyze me and drag me off if I go talk to her because she's, um, very focused. But I bet if you go meet her, she'll be, like, reasonable, and maybe you can talk to her about stuff and get her to talk to the Summer court, y'know? I bet they'll listen to their own instead of us. Yeah."

    Now she turns and switches to latching on to Isaac's arm. "Isaac, you're coming drinking with me. No ifs, ans, or buts! Bring your new friends too if you want. Let's go!"
    "The diner at 9am," she confirmed, but really it was more a reminder aimed at Aelas than anything else.

    Then suddenly another task presented itself on Lily's To Do list with both impressive speed and vagueness. Lily raised her eyebrows at being tasked so brazenly with finding this seemingly quite dangerous 'Static' and dealing with her, without so much as a please. She tried to put on her very best you-have-got-to-be-kidding face but it was not an expression she had much practice summoning. Besides, she knew she'd end up tracking down this Static anyway, so her face soon softened back to just plain lukewarm disapproval.

    Until Aelas latched on to Isaac. Lily's saw the grasp on his arm and she struggled to look away. She wanted to protest but nothing came to mind. This was not unusual. Later tonight when she was paralyzed by a gargoyle and being dragged to a Summer Court slaughter, that's when she'll know what she should have said right now. That is how the real world worked.

    Right now, as Aelas and Isaac sauntered off to a party leaving her to pick up the proverbial mop and bucket... the real world kind of sucked a little bit.

    "Jack," Lily tried not to voice too much of her annoyance, for none of it belonged with him, "could I trouble you for some help?"
    "For love is no part of the dreamworld. Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."
    ~ Neil Gaiman

    "Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it at the time."
    ~ Snow Patrol



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