⇨ THE SUMMER COURT

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone in the Summer Maiden's entourage.
When: Day 129 - Day 131 (Subjectively experienced as only one day.)
Where: The Summer Court
What: The Summer Maiden returns to the Summer Court for the first time in eons, leading a posse of carnival workers and Summer Fae. The Summer Queen has initiated a peaceful Elysium for discussions to take place, with dozens of the Court in attendance, but the true tone of the negotiations has yet to be unearthed.
Warnings: Fae being bitches.

SUNSET OF AN ERA↴ The phase shift takes few minutes to complete, when it's time. The Summer Maiden gathers everyone together - her guard of Summerland Fae, and her carnival wards - and activates the spell to bring them to the Summer Court. It's been planned with the Summer Queen, she says, and they should have her cooperation. Nothing has been settled in terms of negotiations, but at the very least, the Queen was not willing to shut down the opportunity to see her daughter for the first time eons, along with her lesser children, Ignatius and Gild. The Summer Maiden has recommended that everyone dress formally and conduct themselves with respect, but she is not forcing anyone to do so. It simply seems like the best way to make an impression. When they arrive in the Summer Court, they are in a courtyard. The Maiden's light magic fades and they will see themselves in a garden of alien trees, with golden towers rising up around them in all directions. Two Summer Court fae are waiting for them at an ornate gate, but it isn't until the Summer Maiden has claimed her role as an adjudicator or the present Elysium that she breaks the barrier surrounding her party. She tells everyone that it is safe to go forth but to be cautious. There is no way of knowing what direction negotiations will take. The guard leads them in, and they will find themselves in a spacious and life-filled throne room, with massive trees that function and supporting pillars and the throne itself. A variety of True Fae that the carnival has never seen before are scattered around the room, waiting with a thick air of tension. As the Summer Maiden leads them in, she will announce herself to the Queen, and claim all those present as under her protection. The introductions are brief, and after the Maiden is done, the Queen will ask to speak with her privately. There is a clear nervousness beneath the Queen's veneer of control. As the Maiden joins her at the throne to speak about personal matters, everyone else is free to explore the throne room and mingle - if they dare. ► STICKING OUT: There are some notable reactions going on as the Maiden's entourage arrives. In general, the Court Fae respond strongly to Ignatius's presence - both the fact that he's turned up as an ally to the Maiden, and his curious magical transformation. Ignatius, for his part, holds back and tries to keep to himself, looking like he's trying to hide a significant amount of stress. To the Gilded Mark, there is a particular note of resentment, which she mostly seems to ignore and focuses on staying close to the carnival folk. The Starlight, the Whirling Rainbow, and a few other Summerland Fae have come along, and they all hold back as the Summer Maiden discusses things with the Queen privately. In general, the Court Fae eye the carnival with a mixture of curiousity and disgust. ► TOUGH CROWD: There are dozens of Summer Court Fae here that no one will have seen before. They mill about the room as if this is an uncomfortable formal engagement, eyeing up the Maiden's entourage an gossiping with one another. The opinions they hold of the situation vary wildly - some seem more of the attitude that the Court would be better off if the Summer Maiden were to die and be replaced, where others are openly optimistic and excited about the potential of reparations being made. You are free to make up/NPC any of these fae as long as they aren't doing anything radical, like trying to break the Elysium. Some of them will treat the visitors as threats, while others may even attempt to ask them questions about the situation. ► ACCOMMODATIONS: There is food and drink provided while negotiations endure. Normally you may want to be cautious about accepting this kind of thing, but given that it's part of Elysium, they are obligated to not harm any of those present. So, if you want, you will be able to enjoy faerie ales and other luxury foods that have the capability of being distractingly tantalizing to mortals with low self control. If you need some space, you are free to go back out to the courtyard where you arrived. There are few fae out there, but it is still covered by the Elysium. Take some time to settle in - this could take a while, and there's sure to be drama before it's over. Later on, there will be public discussion.

Comments

AMETHYST | ota

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst is mainly here to try to do whatever she can to make sure Steven doesn't run afoul of the Rose Queen, but the possibility she might show up (or, worse, Nightshade -- which she knows is dumb, to think Nightshade is worse, but, well...) is putting her on edge. Fortunately, lavish food is an adequate distraction; she's kind of anticipating some of it will do stuff, but Elysium means it's fine. Sure, some of it might end up having non-harmful side-effects, but when has Amethyst ever let the possibility of some wacky nonsense happening to her stop her from pouring hors-d'oeuvres directly into her mouth?

Literally never, is when.

The disgusted glances from the members of the Summer Court aren't discouraging her either. She's keeping an eye on proceedings, but currently she's propped up on her tail where the food is at, trying to fit as many of some kind of small fancy pastry into her stomach mouth at the same time as she can. If the Court Fae are going to look at her like she's gross, then she's going to act gross.

[starseedling]

No sign of the Rose Queen so far.

That's, of course, the primary thing on Steven's mind. Ever since they showed up, he can feel prickles of anxiety running across his nerves, constantly expecting that she will suddenly appear somehow and see right through him. He's been trying to put it out of his mind, to stand strong and confidently, but it's more difficult than he'd hoped.

He locates a familiar face and hustles over to Amethyst, avoiding the judgemental glances of some fae who probably know who his fae mom is. He tries to act like his arrival was natural, and not like he was clearly trying to escape something.

"H-Hey Amethyst, how's the grub?" he asks, his voice wavering nervously. He tries to act casual.

[drrdrrdrr]

Ah. Amethyst knows that look. And that tone of voice, also. She lowers herself on her tail a bit so she's closer to his eye level.

"Pretty good. Doesn't seem too cursed, anyway. You want some?"

She offers him a savoury pastry.

"I dunno what's in this but it tastes kinda like fish."

[starseedling]

He takes the pastry and looks at it like he's thinking deeply about whether to eat it or not. Mostly, though, he's too distracted to complete the thought and arrive at a decision, so he just keeps holding it.

"Are you doing okay?" he asks. "This is kind of scary, right?" And he can't help but feel like Amethyst mostly came out of concern for him.

[drrdrrdrr]

SHE SURE DID, but she's not going to admit that.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she assures him. "...It is sorta scary, though." She sighs. "This fae stuff is all kinda nuts, huh?"

[starseedling]

"Yeah..." he admits, folding back his ears as he stares ahead at the various fae that can't help but glance at him with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. "This feels way different than the Summerlands. It's almost like... when the Diamonds put me on trial for shattering Pink Diamond, only... I actually sort of get those Homeworld guys, now. I don't know what to expect here at all."

Both Yellow Diamond and Blue Diamond seem reasonable in comparison to the Rose Queen.

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst grimaces.

"I guess at least no one here thinks you like... killed somebody, right?" She glances around the vicinity. Not being held in personal suspicion of murder doesn't seem to be taking the edge off the looks on the fae's faces when they glance this way, though. Oof. "... I mean, I think they don't. I dunno what their deal is at all, actually."

[starseedling]

"I mean... I guess we killed the Mother of Invention?" Steven says nervously. "But... I dunno if these guys really care about that."

Even if they didn't care personally, they might care about people smaller than them rising up and making a fuss.

[drrdrrdrr]

"Isn't she, like, their enemy?" says Amethyst, pulling a face because she's not one hundred percent sure that makes it OK.

[starseedling]

"Yeah... but..." Steven hedges uncertainly. "...Maybe that doesn't really matter, when they're all worried about someone coming for them next." It has to set a bad precedent. "I think they're mostly relieved, though. Like the Mother of Invention was bad even by their terms..."

He laughs frailly.

"I just feel like... I have to get used to this. Even if I'm scared, y'know? I'm so... different, now... I have to figure out how to make this work."

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst sighs and drops onto her feet.

"What d'you mean? You're still Steven."

[starseedling]

"Yeah, but..." he doesn't seem convinced. "I'm part fae now, and I probably will be forever. Nothing I do is going to make this stop being a part of me, even if I go home."

He looks away, and laughs in a sad, hicuppy way, rubbing one of his eyes.

"My gem isn't even the same kind anymore. What are the Homeworld gems going to do about that?"

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst makes an extremely weird sort of grimace in response to that.

"Well... I mean..." She rubs the back of her neck. "Are they even gonna be able to tell...? It doesn't look any different..."

[periphrasing]

At some point, Peridot silently sidles up to linger next to Amethyst. She probably doesn't need to speak for Amethyst to figure out why she's here: there's an undeniable nervous energy radiating off of her, the way she slinks over with her shoulders hunched, eyes wide and boggling uncomfortably at the fae who keep shooting all the carnies nasty looks.

Without interrupting the other gem's heinous gorging, she settles in and surreptitiously drapes her tail over the tip of Amethyst's for comfort.

[drrdrrdrr]

Peridot's tail makes her jump a little, in spite of herself. It's not like she didn't notice her approaching -- she's paying way more attention to her surroundings than she usually would while cramming herself with snacks -- but she wasn't expecting the contact. She appreciates it, though.

"Hey," she says with the mouth that isn't full of fancy appetisers. She curls the end of her fat scaly tail around Peridot's, and leans back from the table a little.

[periphrasing]

"Hi," Peridot grunts back. "So... This is kind of awful," she says blandly, nervously keeping her eyes on the crowd.

[drrdrrdrr]

"Yeah, it blows," Amethyst agrees, reaching for something that might be made out of an egg, but also might not, and prodding it into her belly with the rest of it. "Kinda wish they'd just get on with the negotiating stuff."

[periphrasing]

"That would be vastly preferable," Peridot agrees miserably. "I wish we could hear what those two are talking about in there. I'd rather be trapped in that tense situation than be stuck out here with all these... gawkers."

[drrdrrdrr]

"Ugh," says Amethyst. "They don't even quit it if you stare back at them, you noticed that?"

[periphrasing]

"...No," she admits, sweating a little. "But that's... Prrrrrobably because I haven't managed to maintain eye contact with any of them for longer than a few seconds?"

[drrdrrdrr]

"I've been tryin' to make 'em uncomfortable but it doesn't work." Amethyst sighs. "Plus I mean... y'know." She pulls a face, as if it is shameful to admit to not dedicating herself fully to making the Summer Court fae as uncomfortable as possible regardless of potential consequences. "I don't wanna make them so uncomfortable we get in worse shit than we already are, right..."

[periphrasing]

"Right," she groans miserably. She knows exactly where Amethyst is coming from; if Peridot isn't allowed to bluster and swagger about throwing around hollow threats to cover for how terrified she is, then she isn't really sure what to do. Act confident on her own merits? Yeah right.

"You weren't at the last Elysium, but... The person holding it can REALLY do some damage if you break the truce," Peridot adds. "I watched it happen to Jasper. Supposedly this one is a little bit different, but I sure don't want to be taking any chances."

[drrdrrdrr]

"Uuuughhhh," says Amethyst, slouching miserably. One of the hors-d'oeuvres falls out of the side of her stomach mouth. "... Ugh," she says again. "Well, I hope dropping food on the floor doesn't break any of their dumb rules."

[periphrasing]

Peridot just watches the food item splat on the floor. She's spitefully amused for about two seconds thinking that at least the fae are going to have to clean up after any messes they make, before she realizes that they'll probably just get their changeling slaves to do it or something.

"I'm pretty sure you'd have to physically attack someone to really get into trouble," she snorts, picking the thing up and surreptitiously putting it back on the platter. Maybe one of them will eat it by accident.

She frowns quietly, and then says: "Hey... Can I ask you something?"

[drrdrrdrr]

Amethyst eats it on purpose. Come on, Peridot, what did you expect? She chews it with her face mouth this time, frowning out at the non-Carnival company.

"Hnuh?" She swallows, and her frown turns a little more serious. "Uhh, sure, what is it?"