Act 1: Chapter 1: Four Corners

[ST McDude]

Silence fell around the inner door of the warehouse as the two figures entered inside it. The motes of dust whirled through the midday light shining in through the windows. The area inside was dominated by a large piece of wall, like it had been lifted by some computer nerd from another picture and edited into the center of this space.

Two figures strode towards the door, the one lagging behind the taller of the two with flickers of crimson light sparking periodically around him. He was the taller figure, hair more grey than not yet had the physique men half his age would kill for. He was garbed in military fatigues that had seen a bit of action....and even more wear. A long rifle was slung over one shoulder while his hands were encumbered with a large box. He easily matched the step of the woman he walked beside. Though while noticeably shorter than the man, she was definitely the one with purpose in her stride. While she was short, her frame was much wider built. A heavyset frame with the clear definition of muscle all along it, her skin tone an earthy brown and hair as black as midnight. Her camo tank top and black shorts were in much better condition despite the powdering of dust where the edges rubbed along her skin.

They strode towards the piece of wall, which seemed to be the loading dock from some business or other. A large ramp led from the ground floor up to the oddly placed structure. Standing by the side of the sliding door was a short.....man. A distinction that someone could only give him when they see him from afar. His pointed ears and nose, the wispy hair barely covering any of the green skin on his scalp. Not to mention half his face, amongst other pieces of him, having been replaced with clicking clockwork. He stood stock-still at attention as the two figures approached.

"Hey Tog, everyone else here?" the woman said as she stepped up to the mecha-goblin.

"Negative, Your Majesty! Several discipline-less scum have seen fit to disregard your summons! I recommend immediate disciplinary action for this insult!" The little goblin shouted crisply, he started to grumble under his breath till he looked back up at the woman who was watching him patiently. He snapped back into firm attention and waited patiently for an awkward moment.

"The door, if you would." She motioned towards the door to emphasize her point. "At once Your Majesty!" The goblin shouted as he instantly sprang into action, almost literally as there was an alarming sound from one of his clockwork pieces. The door shrieked open as it rose, but rather than the other side of the warehouse, it opened up on a road covered in rubble and surrounded by a lush green forest. The foliage becoming impossibly dense very shortly off from the side of the road. The rubble appeared to have been rearranged from where it fell and shattered from whatever had done so. Various chairs, pavilions, and coolers were arranged about. Several figures walked around or sat together in small groups.

The older man stopped after entering, the woman turning curiously as he checked his watch. "Are we late? Unless the Hedge is in a right fucky mood I'm pretty sure people weren't supposed to show up before 17:00. It's not even 16:00 yet and I can already count some non-summers out there." The woman looked out to check, grunting in assent. "Everyone is on edge, we don't have the same level of trust we once did. They'd have wanted to check out the environs first." She turned back to the man and smiled sardonically, "Relax Krieg! You'll have plenty of time to get a nice buzz going before you have to start shooting people."

Krieg sighed and started walking towards the setting. "Not unless you muzzle Jill." He pointed over at a small group under a canopy surrounded by various camping gear. The box letting out a clanking noise from the bottles inside shifting as he gained a new grip on it. The woman gave a long look at the three figures, one of which was yelling fairly boisterously. She stretched her neck a little and shook the tension out of her hands as she walked towards the group.

"How can you possibly eat that!? It's all....processed and full of foodbeasts you didn't get to kill yourself!" The voice coming from a young woman who was hanging over the shoulder of a giant of a man. The woman was garbed in all leather combat gear, accented with various explosives and bandoliers half full of shotgun shells. Her skin was a merry mix of oranges and yellows, which glistened in the sun as if she'd just come out of the water. Her hair had a similar coloration to her body and her eyes had an unusual shape to the pupil while being a golden color. They were currently fixated on the food the giant was eating, as she leaned dramatically out attempting to eat it out of his hand. The giant himself was covered head to toe in glistening midnight blue and deep green scales. His hands webbed, long black hair hung down over a ruggedly handsome face. He was garbed only in bicycle shorts and a collar with a short length of chain attached to it.

"If you're hungry there's plenty for yourself *right over there*!" The giant said as he tried his best to keep his food from getting stolen from him.

"Indeed so, I have some chicken that just got finished." The last figure said, with an exaggerated flourish and deadpan look of someone who knows he won't be listened to. He wore a hoodie and sunglasses even while being under the canopy. His features just barely visible in the unnatural shadows that shrouded them.

"Yes Dominic, but that doesn't require me to engage in mortal combat with my giant foe!" Jill punctuated as she made a lunge for the sausage held in the giant's grasp. Her aim was true, but her leverage was not. She ended up hanging from his forearm still unable to reach her prize. She gave a yank on the arm....and utterly failed to move
it an inch.  Undeterred she instead started climbing up his arm, to which the ogre reacted by standing up suddenly, trying to extend the food further out of her reach. He accidentally tagged the canopy on the way up nearly sending it flying if not for Dominic's swift reflexes.

"No. Please. Stop." Dominic woodenly said as he continued preparing the food. Making it clear he knew just how much his words would be heeded. The giant spun in place few times, trying to dislodge the darkling. With a feral snarl he grabbed her leg, his hand fitting neatly around the entirety of her slender thigh. He gave a sharp tug which elicited a quick mock squeal from Jill as she followed it up with, "Hey! At least buy a girl a drink before you squeeze her like that!". Giving an angry huff he gave a not-gentle yank and tore her grip loose....and fell over with a loud thud. Jill sailed a couple feet away, landing on her back with a wet slap. She laughed lightly to herself as she proceeded to stuff her mouth full of her prize... until she saw who was standing over her.

"Awnchee! HWAI!" She cleared her mouth as the earthbones above her was clearly unamused. "Annie! Fancy meeting you here, what's the occasion?" She stood up, a sheepish smile on her face as her coloration changed to a reddish tint.

Annette leaned in close as the darkling stood up, if it was possible for her skin tone to change from the earthen brown it always was it'd be blotchy with barely contained fury. "I TOLD you not to do anything like this! The rest of the court is watching what we do here, any of this can be used against us when we need it the least!" she stopped for a moment and held the bridge of her nose, "Look, just go back out and patrol the perimeter. Take Jonathan with you." she said as she walked past, making a casual wave at the giant that was pulling himself off the ground. She walked off towards the other people, breathing deeply to regain her composure."

Krieg stood where he was, waiting for Annette to get far enough away. Jill made to leave and Krieg's hand shot out to pull her up short. Her drew her close the temperature rising as Krieg hissed out to the darkling, "Be thankful she's new to the Iron Crown or this would have ended differently. You want to screw around? Do it on your own time. You fuck off on the job?" Krieg's hand gave an expert twist which was matched by a sharp crack from Jill's wrist and a cry of pain that was cut short as he lifted her by her damaged wrist into his face. "Call me old school, hate me if you must, talk shit about me behind my back, I don't care! You mess up like this when you wear the Crimson Court's banner again and you'll have issues walking away from it." He dropped her unceremoniously and headed out of the clearing tossing a bottle to Dominic as he passed.

Jill winced as she pulled herself up, already pulling a small fruit from out of one of her belt pouches. She winced again when the magic took hold and her wrist popped back into place. "You're just lucky the hedge is brimming with emminently killable critters dude. Time to vent!" She walked over and picked her rifle up where it had been left near the canopy.

Jill pointed at Dominic after straightening up, "If you 'I told you so' I'm burying your face in that grill!".

Dominic's face stayed absolutely straight as he replied with, "I would never consider such a thing!" He held up a small plate with a roasted chicken on it. Making a grand presentation of it before offering it to the disgruntled darkling.

Jill seemed about to say something else, decided against it and just grabbed the cooked poultry off the plate and shoved it in her mouth. She snapped her fingers at the giant, jerking her thumb towards the hedge. Jonathan gave one glance at Dominic before grabbing a large machete-like blade and slung it over his shoulder as he followed the much shorter courtier into the hedge.

[ST McDude]

"Woooow!" A small voice whispered outside of earshot from the heated interchange of summer. A small person with asian features, wispy night black hair and a macabre grin underneath bright white eyes. She turned and sank down next to her winter associates. A larger man, wearing a hoodie with the hood pulled down all the way and bandages covering his hands in their entirety. The other man was dressed to the nines his delicate features, pointed ears, and a rogueish smile, looked right at home even despite the outdoor setting.

"Did you see what he did to her?! That was violent!" She said to her compatriots, both of which began shaking with laughter. "What? It was!"

The well-dressed man leaned over and patted the tiny woman on the shoulder, "Amy my dear, that was just rough play for our summer brethren. There weren't any guns or blades brought to bear, and they were both able to walk away from it." The light skinned woman paled even more at those words. "I think, perhaps, they have something planned for later that they need us not to have fled from. They've even got all their howlers dressed up." He relaxed back into the small pit formed from the rubble around them. It sat near the center of the gathering, at least for the moment.

"So 'Bob'." The man in the suit said, facing his larger compatriot. "Care to place a wager on what this event is about? I sincerely doubt summer is *that* desperate that they need to host a campout in their old compound."

Bob turned to look at the other guy, shrugging slightly he said "Dunno Kev, some kind of memorial I think. Otherwise we'd be at that dining hall they still hold....onto...." he trailed off a bit as the other man started trying to suppress a smile. "You're kidding?! I loved that place!"

Kevin mock coughed a bit and took a drink from a beer he had sitting next to him, "Closed for 'renovations', I'm afraid." His compatriot swore and took a long pull from his own drink, finishing it clearly too soon for his taste.

"Was it that Graves guy? The deserter? Someone really needs to pop that little shit!" Bob said as he grabbed another drink from the cooler that sat in the middle of their hole. He turned to offer one to the woman sitting next to him but found the spot vacant. Shrugging, he put two drinks down next to himself.

"Naw, Graves liked that place too. My guess is summer's former allies are getting impatient." Kevin said, a sparkle creeping into his eye. He leaned forward and said again in a conspiratorial whisper, "So I ask again...care to make wager?"

~~~~~~~

Hailey Letterman sat underneath her elaborate canopy just off the side of the event setting. Her skin and all the rest of her body was composed of the deepest black. To the point of her facial features being difficult to make out. She has this time, as she usually does, accentuated said facial features with vibrant color that seemed to swirl and shift in hue. The short airy dress was a perfect match to her makeup, the color scheme gently shifting as if watching the clouds at play during a sunset. The small twinkling lights of the gems that studded her hair in it's elaborate knot on top of her head finishing off her look. She had brought a more elegant piece that went over
this one, but had shed it before anyone else had shown up once she was certain it was going to be outdoors. She had a tendency to overheat in the sun, a quirk of her 'natural' darkness.

Underneath the canopy with her were two people: one that seemed very normal, albeit well dressed and mannered. His tux somewhat at odds to the relaxed and campy atmosphere around him. He stood back and at attention for any requests she might have. The other man was similarly attired albeit a bit less than normal in appearance. His features more reminiscent to a chimpanzee than a man though not quite either. He stood near the front and kept a careful eye on the goings on around them. The entire scene between the summer courtiers visible to them.

For they had seen everyone arrive here. Hailey had insisted they come far earlier than any of the summer courtiers let alone members of the other courts. The reason was quite simple, Hailey was more than just the diplomat for autumn, she was also a scholar of the hedge. She had almost been compelled to jump for joy when she heard where summer was holding it's event. So now she periodically pulled on what looked like an e-cigarrette version of the classical cigarette holder.

It was not tobacco smoke that entered her lungs when she pulled at the thing. Instead she could feel a faint touch of euphoria as the token burned away at the local glamour. Allowing her to "taste" the composition of the local hedge. Her fingers periodically finding the keyboard to her laptop in order to take notes. Her job was not taking a backseat to her hobby, however. She found ample time with how swiftly words flowed onto her laptop that she was taking detailed notes of the activities around her, on top of the notes for her hobby.

She was finding both interesting, though her attention was fairly fixated on her hobby. The simple platitudes and reassurances the summer courtiers required to leave her be took nary a moment of her time. Content that she was there to observe and had only been there 'just a short while'. The resonance of the hedge, though... She found the mystery fascinating! Truly the hedge was no stranger to dark and nightmarish things, but this...*this* was something altogether different!

She could feel the energy coursing through her, her inner Wyrd finding the threads of: Glamour, Hedge, Fate, Time...typical of the hedge. It parted them from the twisting darkness that pervaded them. An acrid black thing....something ancient, yet also new. She spun it further apart, began to see the frayed edges where the weaver of this magic had worked their craft. The hand that had spun this weave had worked it on another, it was this other that had....

Hailey suddenly gasped as pain ripped through her. It felt like something had seized ahold of her insides and given a wrench. She found herself choking for a few moments, figures of her attendants standing around her as she was driven to her knees by the pain.

~~~~~

It was nearly 5 o clock, the height of summer even despite it being the seattle area, the temperature was uncomfortably warm. The snowskin stood just outside the main campsight, staring down at the giant pile of things at his feet. Behind him was the sound of that damned Whitley bitch and her exasperated escort disappearing back down the trod from where they came from.

Even despite it being several minutes he could clearly make out the shrill complaining of the woman who had taken one look at the humble site before them and dumped her court gift unceremoniously and unexpectedly, causing him to drop both the large amount of things he was already holding along with her gift. Terrance had quickly dropped the things he was carrying near the pile and gave a "Sorry bro." look as he took off after the woman back along the trod.

So there the man stood. His faint brown skin and dark hair broken up by almost-runes of ice that ran along his body in patterns that seemed maddeningly familiar but escaped identification. He wore some of his, formerly, nicest clothes. Not having known what had waited for him today.

But he could see it now, in this one shining hateful moment. He could see why changeling joined the summer court. His durance hadn't left him filled with rage, it had been a hollow thing left him seeking something warm and pleasant to fill the ice scabbed holes that were not only physical, but spiritual as well. But now? Now he wanted to break something. He couldn't help looking at the collection of expensive bottles strewn across the ground and be tempted to break every last one of the things while venting madly at the heavens for having to put up with that woman.

He looked back up at the only other member of spring that hadn't abandoned him. Niki just kind of stood there, the look of a lost waif on her face as she stared in seeming incomprehension at the look of barely repressed rage on the snowskins behalf. It was adorable, and like most of the other men that had seen the mask of this beauty he almost fell for it too. He knew that this woman shrouded by translucent light, as if seen from underwater, with her eyes and lips the blue of a long drowned corpse. The water that dripped from her always wet clothing. She was definitely far more than some vapid headed drug addict. Though she *did* play the part perfectly.

They stood there quietly for a moment, until Niki carefully wound her way through the dropped parcels. She stood face to face to him for a long sensual moment. Her eyes boring into his. Mesmerized by Fairest's beauty he leaned in for a kiss just to feel something hard impact his ribs. Niki had shoved the *one* bottle she had been carrying into his unsuspecting hands. She gave an impish smile then casually lept across the pile and skipped into the clearing before the snowskin could even engage his brain to say anything.

The one side of his face not made of ice burned hotly. Yeah he could see the appeal of summer on these days. He held up the bottle that was in his hand up and out. Shaking his head he just threw it at the box of other bottles, fully intending to just ditch and call it a day.

After a short pause he realized there was no satisfying crash, one that meant he could just leave the rest of this crap behind and find someone to take his mind off the horrid day he'd had. Instead he saw a very small woman, not even 5' holding the bottle and staring back up at him. "Don't smash this one! It's a collector's piece!"

A little dumbfounded he called back the name and date of the bottle by force of habit. "But uh, where did you come from...miss..." He hadn't seen this little one around at any of the spring events. Her mouth made it look like she was smiling, in a ghoulish way. He could barely suppress the shiver even though she didn't *seem* much of a threat.

"Amy Sun! Of winter! Um....flowing page...." She looked at him with a slightly confused look. "How formal are these things anyway? I've never been to a real court! Bob took me to some SCA ones, but they were just cosplayers doing a spot of revenge compared to.....this!" She emphasized the wartorn landscape around them.

"Well you're in luck, actually." The snowskin said, "Consider a summer court to be training wheels before Autumn rolls around." He knelt down and started bringing the assorted parcels together. "Autumn shindigs actually have a dress code to start things off. I haven't managed to get past the door yet, but I've heard stories. The dread queen likes to flaunt her power in weird ways. Really good at setting up bait and making it *just* a little bit too dangerous to take it. At least here, you just need to be fast on your feet if you make a mistake."

They chatted a bit as they put all the bottles back together. Amy seemed to know a lot about alcohol, yet also seemed eager to learn as much as she could. Though within what seemed a short moment they'd gotten everything repacked.

"So now we go back to fuming in rage at how much my court doesn't like me." The snowskin said as they both eyed the pile.

"Don't worry! I'll help!" Amy said, and sat down to look at the pile. "I don't think even with the both of us we're getting this in one trip."

"Yeah, probably not." Was his reply, "Anything we leave behind probably won't be there when we get back. Some hobs have been tailing us for a while now. They are just waiting for a chance."

"Ooh! Idea!" Amy suddenly said, pulling a satchel out from under her light jacket. She quickly dug a silvery cord out of her bag and started unrolling it. "Now punch some holes in the top of the boxes, we can thread them together and drag the whole bunch back to camp."

The man leaned down poked one of the boxes, "Should work... thanks for the save." He set about doing as he was instructed. Within a short bit they'd lashed them all together. While it was highly unstable, the setup worked fine if they moved slow enough.

As they approached the site Amy piped up, "Hey I never got your name, what should I call you?"

The snowskin turned around, an impish grin on his face, "Anytime."

She blushed a bit then frowned. "Wait, that joke didn't flow right. Shouldn't it have been 'when'?"

He shrugged, "It tends to be more effective when talking to drunks."

"Fair enough."

[Mavspade]

Camping, let alone summer camping had never been one of Silver Tongue Sylus’s activities of choice. In fact he could not remember the last time he had camped, or if he had ever camped. Yet that is all he could think of looking at this odd gathering.

Silver tongue had come early with the others of his court namely Hailey Letterman, her fascination with the Hedge was always good fodder for conversation. He had no real desire to be here however so he spent the first long while chatting idly to Hailey when she wanted it otherwise spent his time writing with an ink well pen in a leather journal.

Occasionally the Fate Maker's bronze eyes cast up from his book to observe the surroundings. He was curious if the others of his War Motley would be at this gathering, he imagined so. Ramona, of course, would be here, she was so quick...eager to take action. A smile dry smile like peeled parchment crossed his lips as he imagined that Ogre might see this gathering as some call to action. Of course to Sylus this was no more than the weak horns of summer bellowing against its demise...a weak cry to say they still were alive.

Then of course, there was Fetching kyle, the summer pup. Would he be here this day? Sylus mused over the thought, it would not surprise him if the beast gave this a miss. What ever he had experienced in the hedge had laid its claws deep under Kyles skin. Then again the mutt might try and prove something be making an appearance.

Sweet Sylvia would be here, perhaps even enjoy it for whatever strange reason she deemed worthy; or, more annoyingly, for no reason at all. Twisting in his seat he turned to speak to Hailey when he saw the woman collapse to the ground.

Calmly he set the book he had been writing in aside and slid from his chair. His attention turned to the manservant not far off.

“Arise. Succor your lady, you plodding clod” he hissed as he moved closer to the woman before halting, his hands pulling back in a hesitant motion.

Perhaps it would be unwise to be the first to aid. His bronze eyes flickered back to the opening of the canopy to see if others had noticed.

[InvertedMonkey]

Ramona had once read that the best fighters aren't the ones who'd never been beaten. It's the ones who've experienced defeat. Who've had their confidence broken, and had to rebuild it. Had to hunt for that motivation again. Hit the bottom and claw their way back to the top. Undefeated just means you have yet to be truly tested.

So this is what the world looks like from down on the mat.

It sucks.

There's no hiding from it, not standing here amidst the ruins: Seattle's Summer Court has been crushed. Dozens dead and missing. Devastation wrought on everything they'd built. Wrath is something Ramona is familiar with, from acrimony to vexation, especially her favored righteous anger. But this is new, this... impotent fury. They'd raised an army. They'd built a fortress. It was supposed to be enough, to take the fight to the True Fae. It was everything she'd imagined, everything she'd dreamed, that Summer was supposed to be.

The Herald of the Frozen Heart had destroyed it all like he was kicking over a sandcastle.

It's hard to stand here without fuming. There's a great temptation to just lose herself to this new and disgusting shade of wrath. Instead, Ramona breathes. Deeply, in through her nose, slowly, out through her mouth. And as she breathes, she swallows that anger. It is a part of her. It deserves to be acknowledged, deserves it's place. Later, she thinks to herself, Later I can express this. Later I can use this. Summer is the court of vengeance. Ramona will have her's, in time. And it is right, after all, that she should be... humbled, at this reminder of her court's defeat. Failing to respect an enemy so powerful would be a good way to get herself dead.

Centered, Ramona turns away from the skeletal remains of the once-mighty stronghold. People will be waiting. People who are still alive. Her Doc Martens crunch a bit in the rubble and new growth of Hedge flora as she makes her way back from the ruins to the 'camp site.' This brings her into the path of Jill and Jonathan as they depart for their patrol, and the Ogre twists her body away from the former as she reaches out for the brown paper bag Ramona's carrying in one hand. "No," she says to Jill simply, with a steely glare, using her body to block access to the bag. "Three hours of work per magazine, Jill. Three hours, and you blow through it in three seconds like it's weak beer." She pauses just long enough to make sure Jill gets the point, before she continues on. "Your order's on the list. Meantime, learn trigger discipline for fuck's sake."

She shakes her head as she passes the outgoing two and enters the clearing, pausing to look around, make sure she's got an idea of who's here and who's not. Still not clear on exactly what kind of gathering she was summoned to, Ramona came armed. It's in the Hedge after all, and Harry Heart just gave them all a good reminder that the Hedge is never safe, no matter how fortified or how well patrolled. Over her blue jeans and t-shirt, who's logo presumably represents another of her favored rock or metal bands, she wears a kevlar vest and the holsters and sheathes for various weapons and their ammunition, presumably iron in nature. Including a pistol and an iron battle ax at either hip, and the accessorized AK-47 hanging across her back. Also, the bowie knife at her belt, which is a true hand-forged piece of iron, worked only by muscle and time, the real bane of any True Fae that it would cut.

Her scan spots Sylus over by some of his fellow Autumns. Her motley mate receives a raised hand of greeting should he look her way. But before there can be pleasantries, she's got a delivery to make. She crosses the clearing towards her Sovereign and the Queen's strong right arm. When she reaches them, she opens the mouth of the brown paper bag and holds it out towards Annette. "Got the loading bench set back up," she explains, as the contents are revealed. Several pistol magazines, of the type a Desert Eagle might accept, loaded with freshly pressed .50 Action Express, bullets dully glinting with iron. A few larger mags are clearly intended for an AR-15 or something like it, their 30-round capacities filled with iron-tipped 5.56. They'd burned through so much ammo in that short, hellish war. It's time to start resupplying.

[Saeyer]

Neither on time nor strictly late, it was with general disappointment that Sylvia noted the sparse showing from her own Court from behind gold-rimmed sunglasses. Niki was easy enough to spot, plus the poor sap dragging their gift in; if she was a better person she'd go help, but someone else was already handling it. Why crowd them. Strifling a yawn, she started in toward the gathering proper in search of beer and company, knowing exactly where to find one of those things.

Sidling up to the food Sylvia took off her sunglasses and tucked them into the front of her shirt, shooting a smile at Dom; the tiredness around her eyes deepened, the haggard look oddly romantic on her face. It invited speculation as to what exciting thing might have kept the Fairest up into the early hours, some version of events almost inevitably cooler than 'drank too much, wandered home, fell into bed.' "Hey, man, how's it going? Smells amazing over here," she intoned with admiration that was mostly real, voice slightly hoarse.

Long fingers moved between beer bottles, seeming to weigh her options despite the fact her eyes were scanning the faces around her instead of the labels. There was Sylus, who she trusted in a pinch but the guy was a bit of a mood killer; hard to get folks to enjoy themselves with him looming and poeticizing. Plus, he looked busy with something that wasn't beer-appropriate. She couldn't spot Kyle, though that didn't mean he wasn't around somewhere. And Rambo Bohannon was over by her queen, a distance Sylvia liked. Despite the bare beginning of a friendship before shit hit the fan, these days talking to the Ogre was like talking to a disapproving parent: but what are you doing right now, what are you working on? What part of the world are you going to try and fix with your bare hands today?

The way Ramona was dressed gave her momentary pause, lips pursed. Kevlar wasn't exactly casual wear, and who would know better what to wear to a Summer event than a Summer Courtier? But, surely her motley-mate would've warned her if bullet proof had been the fashion of the afternoon. Maybe that was just regular wear for the Court of Wrath these days; wouldn't really be a shock. The Spring herself had turned up in a short sleeved button down, open to show a thin, slouchy tanktop beneath it. The cuffs of her jeans were stuffed into partially tied boots and her hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail, greenery restrained. Not an especially durable outfit.

Her eyes finally landed on the Winter duo having a party in a pit, and she was sold. Focusing back in on the beer, she grabbed two in each hand and saluted Dom with a rakish grin. "Cheers. Don't let them keep you back there the whole time." She didn't know the Summer beyond a face and a name, really, but maybe a friendly overture could change that. Eventually.

Boots slipping on a bit of loose rubble, Sylvia slid into the Winter's gathering of two with bottles brandished. "Hey folks, mind if I join you? I brought- oh, you're already covered." Without waiting for a response, she sat back and wedged the extra bottles between chunks of stone. "Feel free, if you run dry. Nice suit, by the way," she said to Kevin, popping the cap off the beer she kept for herself. "Who's your tailor?"

[Hedgebound Heart]

The sharp, green leaves and angry, grasping briars that choke the perimeter of the summer court hollow still seem somehow menacing and defiant even as they harmlessly brush against Kyle's lanky form. Although they have not yet taken exception to his presence, the beast understands only too well that the wards might still decide that he is a threat at any moment. A fleeting sense of regret skips across his heart like a drunken snowflake as he considers just taking a pass on this whole shit show for probably the one millionth time. However, the hunterheart just as quickly remembers the grip of cold certainty that he needed to make an appearance or he would come to regret it. Despite trying to convince himself that he hasn't been pacing here for too long, some rational part of his mind realizes that taking a third piss on these same thorns might possibly be seen as suspicious... or perhaps even rude, so he checks once more that his fly is indeed zipped before finally making his way toward the gathering.

This should go well...

It's probably just coincidence that Kyle enters the hollow just after Krieg's departure, and it could be chalked up to mere chance that he seems to be meandering around the opposite side of the clearing from the newly crowned queen of the summer court as well. As his piercing, grey eyes roam over the landscape, the beast gives a nod to each of his motley mates, however he does not bother to wait for any sign of acknowledgement in return. After all, Sylus and Ramona are currently buzzing around their respective monarchs like flies over steaming roadkill, while Sylvia is presently doing what she loves most... "sniffing making new butts friends". He realizes that his entrance won't even be a blip on their respective radars, and some tiny part of him seems insistent that he should be bothered by that fact. But, in all honesty, he's just not. Quickly assessing his options, Kyle intuits that that Sylus would probably not appreciate any interruptions while apparently getting quite cozy with the autumn queen. But then, the very idea of approaching Ramona and Annette fills him with a strong feeling of "NOPE", which may explain why he is so actively avoiding even looking in their direction. So, it is with a vague sense of unease that Kyle watches Sylvia approach two members of his new court. I mean, it's not like she needs any looking after, or he feels the need to run interference, but she does tend to leave drama in her wake like a boat chumming for sharks. It might be best if he avoids that situation all together.

Hmm... Looks like she has an extra beer...

Ambling over to the pit, Kyle checks his fly one last time before liberating one of the bottles from where his motley mate had confined it. The beast nods to everyone as he takes a seat between Sylvia and Bob. Dressed in faded jeans and an old plaid shirt, he looks perfectly at home in the wooded surroundings of the summer court hollow. Popping the top off of the bottle, he takes a long swig of his icy cold beer before looking around at his companions. He notes Sylvia's tired eyes, Bob's bandaged hands, and Kevin's surplus beverages. His tongue flicks over the inside of his mouth as he tries to ascertain the general mood. Everyone's hackles are up, but that's to be expected. The freehold just escaped total annihilation by the skin of it's teeth, and only a fool would think that they're out of the woods yet. The summer court has a plan, he's sure of that. He just hopes its a good one. No one was really sure what tonight was going to bring, and despite his best efforts to put on a calm exterior, Kyle could still feel the tension crouching within him like a caged animal just waiting for a hand to try and feed him. But, he's down with winter now, so he reminds himself that he has to learn to keep all of that to himself.

"Hey. How's it goin'?"

[ST McDude]

Hailey struggled with the essence thorn that dug deeply into her essence. She could feel it, like some writhing leech suckling away at her very being. She couldn't help but think how careless she had been, of course they'd have left traps.
As she reached out, she found the manservant at her side helping her up. She struggled up while the trap spell roiled within her.
While Hailey still lay struggling on the ground the Beast bodyguard simply glanced at her for a moment, then fixed his eyes on Sylus and sneered. "'Oy Silver Twit!" Hardly waiting for a response he took a few steps towards Sylus and gave a sharp nudge with his boot. "Mind your tongue rookie! Some of us don't take kindly to that kind of attitude...."
He trailed off as he leaned down towards Sylus, "Particularly from those skating on some pretty thin ice! Not enough you gotta use Their magic? Now you're copping the same attitude as well?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jill just couldn't quite keep a smile from forming on her face as she saw Ramona coming past her with the brown paper sack. It was with no small amount of surprise when her hand closed on nothing and the Ogre began berating her. She took it all in stride, her short smile never leaving her face.
Once Ramona arrives in the middle of the gathering, it's to see Krieg leaving towards his tower. Annette on the other hand looks up and lets out a tense breath as she sees the contents of the bag. "Finally something going right today. What do we have?"  She does a quick head count of the contents as she fishes some money from a clip of it she pulls from a belt pouch. She ran a hand through her hair, the hair tie coming loose causing her shoulder length hair to fall free.
She reached inside the bag and removed one of the desert eagle clips. With practiced ease she swapped the iron rounds for the standard FMJs that were originally in the gun. "Sometimes it feels like we never really got away, that this is just another level to the same sick game the Fae have been playing since before we even started taking part."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dominic nodded as Silvia came up. "So what can I get for you?" Not terribly surprised as he looked up from finishing a round off of one of the barbeques that her attention had wandered out over the gathering. It took a act of herculean self-control to avoid saying something dumb to the woman before him. Even though she clearly had a long night she hadn't quite slept off, she was still one of the most beautiful women to come through. The scent that barely tickled his nose was most certainly not helping.
To distract himself he fell back on training and watched her take stock of the people sitting around and gauged her reaction as her eyes crossed each of them in turn. He silently made a mental note to ask Ramona about this woman given her apparent familiarity with the Ogress. As she went to grab the drinks and walk off he called out,
"Hey, hey, not that swill!" He bent down into one of the coolers that was buried in his cook's nest behind the grill. He came up with four different bottles and offered them to her. "The good stuff is on lockdown."
He watched her head back across the clearing as a not so pleasant smell hit him and he had to leap to save the unattended food.

Amy was just standing there shaking her head at the snowskin as he was frozen in mid greeting to the now departed Spring courtier. "Are you *sure* you're a bartender? You seem notoriously bad with the ladies for that particular profession." To which a sour look crossed his face and he set about organizing the haul. Not one to sit idle she dug in to help him get things set up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bob's laughter bubbled around him like falling rocks, "A wager with you? Nah, you cheat more than a politician during an election!" He reached to where he'd left the drinks and popped one open taking a long swig.

"Come now! Am I to sit here and just be insulted this entire time? What happened to your sense of adventure?!" He cried out in mock indignation.

"What do you think happened? I made a wager with you...." The ogre's loomed meaningfully at the smaller darkling.

"Come now! You can't *still* be upset about that? What's a good wager without a strong penalty? You're supposed to learn from defeat, not hide from it!" He nodded sagely to his friend.

"I did learn! Not to wager with you...."

"Oh yeah? Well it just so happens...." Kevin started as Silvia approached. "I have a new friend to make!"

"It makes him feel important." Bob said to Silvia's comment as he took another drink while leaning back and relaxing.

"Hey! Come now! It takes a lot of effort for me to get this look of thorough untrustworthiness just right!" He stood up and with an exaggerated bow he deftly grabbed one of the bottles SIlvia had brought.
Bob just shrugged. As Kyle sat down Bob grunted a greeting "What's up noob?" He gave Kyle a friendly nudge with his elbow.

[Greebs]

It had taken but two quick, purposeful strides to cover the distance from the shady spot where Molly had been stood, statue-still, just watching, to where this little drama unfolded among other members of her Court - a concept that was still fresh, and unfamiliar and not properly broken in.

A bony, pale hand on the end of a long, slender arm reached down and interposed itself between the two Autumn Courtiers, carefully, but firmly separating the aggriever from the aggrieved.

At the end of that arm was a bony shoulder, a charcoal grey turtleneck, a long, thin neck, and a face that was the stuff of nightmares. That unnerving cheshire grin and glassy, unblinking red eyes cast into shadow as Molly looked down on them both, shaking her head. This was neither the time, nor the place to let tempers run wild. That was those other guys' thing.

Expressing this sentiment through the medium of mime, while maintaining ones dignity as a symbol of fear was one of many reasons why Molly didn't go out much.

She could have pulled out her cell-phone and dumped something into the text-to-speech app. Her typing proficiency on those godawful touchscreens was improving - but one hand was occupied with keeping these two from causing a scene and embarrassing the Court - the other with holding a Parasol against the burning sun.

[InvertedMonkey]

Ramona has always gotten along pretty well with Annette. They're similar in a lot of ways. As quartermaster, she'd sort of been the Ogre's boss even before the crown had came to her, at least in Ramona's duties as an armorer. Delivering and receiving orders for ammunition, weapon maintenance, or new-made gear. The Summer court used to be massive, and being the logistics-boss was a big job, so they'd never had much more than a professional relationship and some general camaraderie.

The court is smaller now. Small enough that everybody pretty much knows everybody. Ramona's still not sure how that's going to alter all their different relationships, let alone her's and her Queen's. She plucks the payment from Annette's fingers and stuffs it into a pocket, not without a little pang of guilt. She's giving her fellow Summers the means to more ably defend themselves after all, and despite all the time and effort she puts into it, it still feels a little wrong to charge for that service. It hadn't felt that way before the War, but now... well, things are different now.

Apparently, one part of Ramona and Annette's altered relationship is that her Sovereign feels secure in confiding in her. A minute frown creases her brows as the Earthbones mentions the impending difficulties, but after a moment, she gives a simple, solid reply. "I've got your back." She's still not sure what's going on, what Annette has planned, but it's hard to imagine it would be something so boneheaded or terrible that Ramona wouldn't back her Queen's play, whatever it is.

As the Queen exchanges ammunition, Ramona crouches and reaches out, picking up the fallen hair tie and offering it to Annette. Again she feels a bubble of that impotent fury welling up as the True Fae and a sense of futility make their way into the conversation, and again she swallows it. She's not sure what to say for a moment, but then a quote tickles at her memory. She looks Annette in the eyes, "Though the boys throw stones at frogs in sport, the frogs die in earnest."

She pauses a moment, then grimaces slightly, "Shit, that's not inspiring." She shakes her head, pausing for a moment, eyes downcast. Then they return to Annette, "I guess you could say, it may be a game to them... but it sure as hell isn't a game to me."

[Saeyer]

The first sip of her beer was heavenly, more for its delicious coolness than the actual taste. Overall, though, it certainly wasn't bad- the guy at the food hadn't steered her wrong. She shot Bob a grin as he ribbed Kevin about his suit, then leaned back and tried to catch Dominic's eye before sending an emphatic thumbs-up his way. When her attention returned to the pit she caught the end of Kevin's bow.

Her mouth was open to respond, the words just on the back of her teeth, when Kyle settled into the spot beside her. The Hunterheart's watchful eyes always unnerved her a little, and Sylvia was never quite sure what was going to come out of his mouth, what straightforward observations he might make. But he'd also done well by her, and motley mates stuck together. And, as Bob's comment reminded her, newly come to the Winter Court; that must be uncomfortable, the first real gathering after the fact.

Whatever she had been about to say forgotten, the Fairest clinked her own bottle against his in greeting. "Hey, good lookin'. We're all still waiting to find out what's up, but for now we've got a pit, beer, good company." The graciousness of the words was lost a little, spoken by someone who had forcibly planted herself into the conversation just moments before.

So many benign social questions were loaded now; it hardly seemed appropriate to ask someone how they were, or tease them about staying out of trouble. How was she supposed to express interest in knowing a person without inviting either confidence or obvious, uncomfortable lies? There had to be some kind of happy medium. "What have you been up to?" Her tone was light, casual; gently curious without expectation.

[Hedgebound Heart]

Accepting Bob's elbow with a wry grin, Kyle leans back and rubs his free hand along the stubble of his jaw. He resists the urge to nudge back harder and simply shrugs instead of starting a pissing contest with the big fella. Although the beast might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, sometimes even he knows when it's smarter to just keep it in his pants. Besides, he just went.

"Not much. Just pissing about. Heard that it'd be a good idea to show up, so here I am. Kyle The Noob reporting for duty."

Raising his bottle in mock salute, Kyle knocks back another swig of beer. He wonders for a moment who exactly sent him that message. It wasn't precisely a threat or anything, but it still gave him the distinct impression that he'd be sorry if he didn't make an appearance. It might have even been one of these guys sitting next to him, just making sure that the new kid represents his court. Then again, maybe his presence was meant to be a calculated jab at the weakened iron spear. Hell, for all he knew it could have been Sylvia simply ensuring he didn't sit at home like a sad little puppy. His motley mate's familiar scent fills Kyle's nostrils as she sits beside him. He remembers how the coolness of her mantle used to lighten the oppressive heat of his own. But not anymore. Those days are gone. After wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, the beast turns toward the fairest and watches the light glint from her bedazzled fingers. His sharp eyes move up to the delicate, sunlit flowers in her hair before finally noticing the shape of her mouth.

Crap. She's talking to me...

"Oh, you know. Same shit, different shoe. Um... I found a new job. I'll give you a hint. I wear an ugly shirt and sell cheap wine to hipsters."

[Mavspade]

His bronze eyes slowly traced their way up the monkey suited fool as his cheese grater on steel he claimed as a voice rang in ears. His eyes moved away from the “man” to his lady. Thankful to say the least she was actually fine.
Curiosity has a terrible sting, and Sylus wanted to know more but the brute in his way was an ugly reminder that he couldn't.

“Your paint your accusations in broad strokes like a simpleton.” he says waving his hands.

Not all fae were aristocratic and you would be a fool to assume so.

“Your statement is a false dichotomy. A brutish attempt to paint me as-”

He was caught off as Molly stepped between them. The sorcerer's eyes gazed up to his toothy companion, which was followed by a dramatic sigh. He raised a hand delicately and waved it as if dismissing the affair

“This is a party after...all” he said gazing out at the gathering. If you could call it that.

[ST McDude]

"Hey now! Just be thankful you aren't actually picking up dry cleaning. You make those rounds twice as fast as I did." Bob said after waiting for the two friends to finish their greeting.

"Try making the run while watching the road instead of the ladies." Kevin took a drink of the pilfered beer, "Not a bad bit here." He holds the beer up in a quick salute to Silvia.

"So now we're a quartet, shall we really have some fun at this party?" Kevin smiles wickedly as he sits back and grins at them.

"Again, say no. He's gonna cheat." Bob says while Kevin's smile remains unshaken. In reply to the ogre's taunt he produces four cards.

"Changed my mind, I love this game." Bob leans out and snatches one of the cards.

"Thought you might." The darkling replies and offers forward the remaining three cards. Each taller than a playing card, more like a tarot card. The backs of the cards adorned by writhing thorns, or at least the appearance of writhing. It's hard to tell if it's enchanted or a trick of the light.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Something tears free from behind the beast's eyes at Sylus' words. With a flick of his wrist a combat knife with a pistol grip flicks into his hand. The blade gleams the oiled black of a well-cared for cold iron blade. He guide's Molly's hand out of the way as he steps closer to Sylus.

"Yeah it is a party. A Summer party....."  Fast as an adder he steps in and buries his fist in the other autumn's face.

"Talk down to me again, please. You still got teeth left." He said as he rolled his shoulders.

Hailey continues to cough while fiddling with something that the butler handed her.

(Sylus can make a wits+comp roll to see the windup for that swing. If you succeed you can switch to dodge which will kill 2B off the total. Otherwise it's 3B hit.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Annette savagely kicks a rock down the trod. "Sure as hell isn't a game to me either! I didn't make the rules, but I can certainly use the system when I have to. Though I shouldn't be surprised that my reign is going to start with a load of broken necks!"

Annette looks down the road and around the trod. "It's getting busy, you want to go talk to this runner from autumn?" she says, indicating a rider approaching from the goblin market, "Or peel your friend off the pavement?" She points backwards at the steepscrambler.

[Hedgebound Heart]

Kyle raises an eyebrow at Bob, before shrugging his shoulders and reaching out to pick one of the cards from Kevin's hand. The beast's lips pull back from his teeth as he turns the card up to have a look at it's face.

[Mavspade]

(1 suxx wits+comp)
Sylus saw the fist coming. The Ape wasn't exactly artful in his subtleness. It gave the sorcerer enough time to brace for the hit, but he made no move to fully avoiding, turning his cheek just slightly to lessen the blow.

The blow rattled him sending his head jerking hard to the side and causing him to double slightly. He wasn't a fighter, but showing fear in face of violence was not the silver tongues style. (1Bashing damage correct? Or 3?)

His frail long fingered hand rose to his face to wipe the blood that appeared upon his lip. Gently he rubbed the viscous liquid between his fingers almost playfully. Slowly drawing himself back to his full posture.

Those that are the loudest in their threats are the weakest in their actions.

All Sylus gives the ape is a sinister smile. One that crossed his ashen face, with a remorseless intent. A smile that could crawl into the ape's mind, bury itself deep in his reptilian brain, and wait till it’s purpose was clean.(3 suxx intimidation)

[Greebs]

This would not do.

This would not do. At all.

It made sense, even when their power was so much diminished, to make a show of force when dealing with the Summer Court. To make a show that you were not willing to be bullied into acquiescence.

It did not make a blind bit of sense to display that strength by fighting among themselves.

Then there was the whole issue of her intervention being brushed aside like so much cobweb. That had left her rather nettled.

Bodily interjecting now, Molly towered over the target of her ire. Whoever's fault this was, whoever had started it, he had thrown the punch. He had snapped. He had drawn a weapon on a fellow courtier, in public. He was making them all look foolish. Molly bundled all those feelings up in a thread of glamour and whispered them directly in his ear.

Enough.

Settle this in private, not here.

There were knives in that voice. The scrape of metal on stone, hushed voices and echoes, overlaid and intertwined around a single message as she reached to snatch at his arm before the weapon could be brought into play and there would be no coming back from the precipice of foolishness.

[InvertedMonkey]

Her Sovereign's last sentence doesn't make sense until she follows the gesture towards what is obviously Sylus recoiling from a blow. "Shit," she hisses emphatically, immediately stepping away from her Queen and towards the confrontation. Yeah, Sylus took some kind of hit. And there's someone tall and scary, stepping between him and the simian asshole who obviously just threw his fist. And in his other fist, the dull gleam of iron.

A combat knife.

It's part of Ramona's philosophy to be prepared. 'Be prepared' being in turn part of her philosophy of self-sufficiency. Being able to ask for and accept help is an important skill, community is valuable, but Ramona considers her safety and well-being to be first and foremost her own responsibility. Thus, training her body and mind to respond to crises forms a significant part of her life. Given the environment that she's in, Ramona's done her best to absorb and learn as much as she can from the people around her. Any useful information, any skills, any wisdom.

Never draw a weapon unless you're ready to use it. The simple phrase of common-sense wisdom sparks through her brain as quick as the neurons can carry it. Sylus's attacker has drawn a weapon. A lethal weapon. And then attacked him. Never point a weapon at someone unless you're prepared to kill them. The attacker isn't exactly pointing the knife, but then, he doesn't exactly need to. He just needs to be close enough to shove that point home in Sylus's breast. Or draw a cut through one of the big arteries in his neck or limbs.

The sound of the Heckler & Koch USP handgun clearing the holster at her hip always seems quieter than it should be. But the POP! of the warning shot she fires straight up into the air is not. She's stopped more than thirty feet away, lowering the gun into a two-handed grip pointing at the ground just in front of the three involved in the confrontation. They're too close together for her to feel comfortable putting the assailant in the gun's sights unless she absolutely has to. She's still a good thirty feet away. Guns are distance weapons after all, unlike knives.

Her eyes are unblinking, focused on the assailant but taking in all three. She's ready, willing, and able to shoot. To act with lethal force to remove the threat. All she knows for certain is that Sylus is her motley-mate. She is oath-bound to defend him. The other two? She doesn't know. The scary-woman looks like she's intervening, which is all to the good. The simian? Inter-court squabbles are not uncommon. Or is he a sleeper agent of Harry Heart? Or a saboteur from one of the rebel Freeholds springing up?

In the sudden silence that follows the gunshot, she calls out in a voice of steel, "Drop the knife, asshole!"

[Saeyer]

Elbows tucked into the rubble behind her, Sylvia leaned back as Kyle spoke, considering him. "Sounds glamorous," she teased, idly turning the neck of the bottle between her fingers. "And not that far off from what I'm doing." Ugly shirt aside, of course.

Curiosity piqued by the cards, she followed her motley-mate's lead and pulled one of them from Kevin's fingers. "So what game is-" BANG The adrenaline burst was immediate, almost as if her system had been waiting for the slightest thing to go wrong and why wouldn't it, the first big gathering after Everything Else had happened. The pounding of her heart felt like it was driving some of the breath from her lungs and Sylvia lowered her head instinctively, card held tightly at her side, an afterthought.

The pit didn't really give them any cover, but it had just been one shot so far, which was... good? Probably? Still hunkered a little, her eyes quickly swept over to find Ramona, pistol pointd at the sky, and a touch of relief seeped into her alarm. I swear, if this is just the way Summer decided to let us know things were starting... But it wasn't hard to spot the knot of people the Ogre was looking at, and she'd said something about a knife.

The extremely tall woman caught her eye first, how could she not. But in the middle of things was Sylus, and that might mean the fun of the card game would have to wait. Her eyes flicked back to Kyle in a silent question even as she started to get her feet back under herself to stand. Defusing, running interference, whatever she could do- it really wasn't how she had wanted to spend this afternoon, but leaving him high and dry while the rest of the motley took care of itself wasn't a good look.

[ST McDude]

The ape man paused at the gun shot, he spun the knife around so the blade rested it's blade against his forearm as he jerked free from Molly's grip. He glared at her for a brief moment before hissing at her, "You're out of your league rookie. Piss off."

Turning back to Sylus he straightens up, giving his knife another twirl before it vanishes down his sleeve. "See, I figured we'd go the easy route. Invoke some seasonal custom to reboot some sense in that head of yours. But now? Now we do this the Autumn way instead. Less kicking, more screaming." He straightened his suit as he stepped back to his position at the edge of the canopy.

"Just the way I like it."

Annette slowly lowers her gun when the knife is put aside, turning as the rider approached from down the trod. Dominic kept his rifle at the ready, letting out a sigh as he turned down the grills. He scanned the autumn group carefully to see if any more trouble was brewing. The spring and winter bartenders just stood there with there watching the scene while frozen mid-action.

Hailey continued to cough quietly while bent over, though seemed to not be in nearly as much distress after what had gone on. The butler just gave the monkey-man a cool look as he resumed his position.

[Hedgebound Heart]

The card game is forgotten as soon as Kyle hears the gunshot echo through the hollow and his survival instincts kick into high gear. Although he flattens the rest of his body out of instinct, his pointed ears are standing at attention and seem to pivot slightly, as if trying to pinpoint the source of the sudden commotion. Catching Sylvia's look, he raises an eyebrow before lifting himself up just enough to peer over the edge of the pit. Seeing Ramona literally lowering the smoking gun causes a flurry of emotions. Confusion and relief wrestle with fear and anger as he attempts to piece together exactly what the fuck is going on. The new summer queen appears to have Ramona's back as she attempts to keep a fairly dramatic lid on whatever steaming pile Sylus has stepped in this time. Kyle's keen eyes see the flash of a knife twirl and disappear before a big baboon steps away from Sylus and the leaning tower of creepy standing next to him. When he sees Annette turn away, he knows that whatever just happened is over... at least for the moment. Looking back at Sylvia, he answers her questioning eyes with a shrug.

"What was that?"

[Mavspade]

Stylus pulled slightly at the collar of his clothes, readjusting them and then dusting them off. Glancing up towards Molly he gave a nod before turning to leave the tent. Walking out from the tent his eyes found the Ogre Ramona. He would never say thank you, instead, giving her a simple nod.

The Autumn courtier fed up of being the center of attention made his way towards a table of food hoping the other courtiers would loose interest now that the show was over.

[Saeyer]

"Who knows..." Settling back slowly, she watched Sylus turn from the altercation without a word and head for the food. Nobody looked hurt, and ostensibly with the separation of the two Autumns the show was over before it really started. Though, she wanted to keep an eye on that asshole who'd pulled a knife. Sylus could be unsettling and sometimes alienating, but that wasn't an excuse to try and stab him.

Despite the adrenaline still tingling in her veins, the Fairest forcibly turned her attention back to the other Lost in the pit with her. "That was... exciting." She let out a soft, humorless chuckle and leaned back into the position she held before what that was had kicked off. "Looks like our hosts have it covered, though." It was still extremely tempting to get up and go ask either Sylus or Ramona what was happening, but the Ogre did seem to be handling things- and this event was Summer's to regulate.

Taking a long drink from her beer, Sylvia spared another quick glance toward the monkey man and the very tall woman. After a moment, she rested her full attention on Kevin with an apologetic bent to her smile. "So what was this game?"

[Greebs]

The bark of the gunshot, painfully loud even in this, ostensibly open space. Molly froze, an electric thrill of fear at the sudden danger shooting up her spine. The tips of her outstretched fingers, the ones not wrapped around the shaft of her parasol trembled, and she could feel the pressure to let them go, to let them out... not these fleshy meat sausages, but her real fingers. The imminent danger, everything balancing on a literal knife edge made her whole body tingle...

...and then it was gone. Over. Mood killed. Time returned to normal. Both parties walked away. Her shoulders drooped a little. The trembling became one of wasted adrenaline rather than excitement.

Still rooted to the spot, she turned her head to seek the source of the gunshot, turning, turning... turning further than anyone should really have been comfortable watching, and cocked her head to the side, waiting to see what the Summer Courtier would do next.

[InvertedMonkey]

Her eyes flick aside, just for a moment, to Sylus. He seems in no obvious distress. No physical distress, at any rate. The eerie range of motion of Molly's neck gets a brief glance too, before her gaze returns to the... assailant.

Ramona has a gun on him, and gave him a clear instruction. He hasn't followed it. Some Changelings are crazy. It happens, everyone does their best to deal with it. But this makes a second incident that this man has completely ignored the implications of the use of deadly force. And this after a war in which all of them became far more acquainted than anyone would want to with deadly force. Either he is crazy enough to be dangerous, or he is simply, deeply stupid in this matter. And Ramona doesn't think he's crazy.

To top it all off, he drew a knife on her motley-mate. And now he's sauntering off like he's going to get off scot-free after this incident. Ramona prides herself on her control, but something inside her just says... You can't let this slide. A familiar rage, deep and primal, stirs within her. There has to be a punishment for this, a payment, a pound of flesh. Drawing iron has a price, always. Sometimes that price is her wrath, and the broken bones that follow.

She moves past Molly, swinging wide as she strides, staying out of the unfamiliar Autumn's reach and keeping her in her peripheral vision. "Motherfucker, I did not say 'put the knife away'," she clarifies, as her left hand leaves the grip of the pistol. Her right keeps it trained on the monkey-man, while her left drops to the second holster at her left hip, and pulls a strange-looking, gun-shaped device from it. She levels the weapon at the assailant, face dark and brow furrowed with quiet anger. "I said drop the knife." There's a weird click when she pulls the trigger, and a pop-hiss as a pair of tiny darts shoot out of the end of it trailing tiny wires. They smack dully into the target's chest, and there's a snap-snap-snaping sound of electrical discharge as a the stun-gun sends 300,000 volts through his body.

Action:

[ST McDude]

"Just one moment my dear. The dinner show is on right now." Kevin idly twirls the last card as he redirects her attention back towards the small canopy the autumn courtiers had set up. Bob twisted in his seat to turn and watch, having looked away when the fight seemed over.

"So, wait....she's just gonna taze GIDEON?! I didn't realize that she was that brave!" Bob said to no one in particular.

Kevin smiled wide at that, "I don't think she knows, a sad state of affairs that leads to many tragedies." He turns to the others in the pit with him. "So if ever there comes a time when you actually have the option to not tangle with that guy, I recommend you avoid it if at all possible. Also try not to start diplomatic incidents with Autumn's representatives." His smile fades, "They aren't known for playing nice about these things."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gideon keeps a cool eye on Ramona as she approaches, mostly unconcerned about the gun she has trained on him. His eyes follow her hands as she reaches for the second holster at her hip. He starts to twist out of the way when the tazer shot out the two darts shoot outwards. They catch on his suit, yet when the current engages not even his hair stands on end in reaction to it.

Sighing deeply he casually pulls the darts free and tosses them on the ground, "You're pretty new at this game aren't you? Do you honestly think a guy like me hasn't been tazed before? You think I'd not take precautions?" Gideon smiles smugly at Ramona, his glance flicking back over her shoulder.

Unseen by Ramona, Hailey had stopped coughing almost on cue. She stood up behind the ogre and stood in a relaxed pose, her shadowed face nearly unreadable given it's near lack of definition. She called out to Ramona from behind her, "That'll be quite enough of that, Smith." Hailey says with a rather pointed emphasis on the last word.

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