lostcarnival | ⇨ THE SUMMER COURT

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⇨ THE SUMMER COURT

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A chill runs down Yuya's spine at how she looks at him. But the presence of Lambert and Marishi help ease his freezing fear.

Yuya squares his shoulders and holds the glass close, but he doesn't seem antagonistic.

"If Steven wants to see you, then he'll decide that."

Yeah, it's pretty fucking obvious what she's asking about, Lambert thinks.

"He's under the Summer Maiden's protection," Lambert answers, evenly. Which is more or less what he alluded to earlier, but he feels like that point needs to be stressed. His back is ramrod-straight, expression and tone uncharacteristically serious, hand steady on Yuya's shoulder. He can't indicate responses to anyone else in the Courtyard right now, given the Rose Queen's attention is where it is.

The Starlight once claimed Childermass could get the Rose Queen off his back with the Summer Maiden vouching for him -- time to see if that holds any water to it now. If she's even in her right mind.

She narrows her eyes at Yuya, but then steps forward again, tall and pointedly ominous in her presence.

"Get out of my way," she says, even though she could easily walk around them. She intends on walking right through them, regardless.

Yuya sucks in a sharp breath, moving like he's going to take a step back. The hand on his shoulder keeps him locked in place, though, when his movement isn't strong enough to free himself.

"I'm not stopping you from looking around," he starts slowly. She can totally go around if she wants. "But this is an Elysium, and everyone with the carnival is here with the Summer Maiden like Lambert said. So... so if you stay, you can't hurt anyone. Or make them do anything, because this is between the Maiden and the Queen."

He can't tell her to leave, but he can make it clear she can't terrorize them to get her way.

"As he said," Marishi adds- her other half now waiting cautiously at the throne room's entrance. "You know the rules..." On her own head be it if she starts shit- they'll certainly be ready for it.

"I told you to get out of my way," she says again, apparently listening to absolutely nothing they are saying, the absolute embodiment of a person who is clearly looking for a fight. Thorny vines begin growing around her feet, snapping and twisting unpredictably.

Strange gives Yuya (and by proxy, everybody assembled around him) a look like they're complete idiots. Is it too hard to just get out of her way?

So, time for damage control. Knowing full well that Childermass will likely fuss at him when all this is over, Strange moves from his spot behind the Rose Queen and heads over towards the main group, still giving them that 'seriously guys, move' sort of look. "You'll have to forgive them for not knowing their place—influence of the Great Beast and all that."

Says the person who's also one of the Ringmaster's. But Strange is banking on the fact that he's wearing Ignatius's cloak might distract her from that obvious aspect.

Lambert's a steady presence beside Yuya, his grip on his shoulder loosening a bit despite the tension of the situation. He's not spoiling for a fight, but he's hardly going to leave Yuya up here on his own, either. He eyes those vines warily, but forces a smile up at her, instead.

"Actually," he says, amenably, "I was just about to offer her an escort. Or a drink, if she'd prefer." He plucks the half-empty glass of wine from Yuya's fingers, holding it out for her like he's unfazed, even as Strange steps forward.

"Disgusting," she says, turning up her nose at that wine glass. Like she's just supposed to be pleased with someone's left over wine? Ridiculous. "Escort me to the throne room."

She gives Strange an impatient look as well.

Strange has negative amounts of faith in Lambert's ability to hold his tongue or do anything regarding social niceties. At Lambert's suggestion, there's a brief look of pure stress and annoyance that flickers over Strange's face before he schools it back into something neutral. "Allow me," he says, as he walks closer towards the group.

However, Lambert's closer to the Rose Queen than Strange is. There's an almost guaranteed chance that if Lambert wants to take the Rose Queen's arm and escort her in, he'll beat Strange to the punch.

“It’s quite nice, actually,” Lambert answers mildly, glancing over at Strange and nodding at the Rose Queen. “There’s plenty if you change your mind.”

With his hand on Yuya’s shoulder, he steers the boy around so he’s facing the throne room, then gives him a little push. There’s a slight edge to his voice, though it remains friendly. “Why don’t you go ahead and announce us, eh?”

He releases him then, swapping his wineglass to that hand, and holds his hand back out to the Rose Queen. He’s presumptuous, but he’s not presumptuous enough to touch her without asking.

“Shall we, then?” Whether she takes his hand or not, he’ll fall into step beside her as she advances forward.

Yuya looks at Strange only briefly, before locking his attention on the Rose Queen.

Until Lambert nudges him, and he looks up as he guides him along. There's a pause before he nods, giving the Rise Queen one last glance before he heads for the throne room. He won't rush ahead, though, so that he reaches the entryway only shortly before them.

"Everyone!" He calls out, looking around the room. "The Rose Queen has arrived at the Elysium."

To his credit, his announcement is steady as he steps sideways and gestures with a flourishing bow for her entrance.

Gongenzaka naturally, being by the door, gets to see and watch that with a raised brow. Marishi to her credit, simply shrugs.

He does lean down to whisper however, a motion that can easily be mistaken for simply leaning down to offer some reassurance to the boy-

"...He knows she is here," he whispers softly, before moving back up and holding a hand gently on the other's shoulder. It is firm- but unlike with Lambert earlier, Yuuya can easily move from it if he likes.

Either way, he stays at the boy's side to watch the Queen come in.

Herbert, bored out of his mind by another long bout of Socialisation, looks up with brief interest towards the door to the Courtyard before remembering who the Rose Queen is and rolling his eyes.

"Who invited her?" he remarks cattily to no-one in particular.

She likes to invite herself places is what Childermass would have answered if he weren't keeping his damn mouth shut. As soon as he got the message from Lambert, he made his way across the room to stand next to Gild. Out of the two siblings, she's the less likely to draw the Rose Queen's attention, even if the ward placed on him from the Starlight should be safety enough for him. Provided he doesn't draw attention to himself, that is, and right now, he'd rather not.

Edited 2019-01-02 23:48 (UTC)

The Rose Queen would like to avoid having any of these people touch her, so she definitely does not accept anyone's hand. Still, she will allow them to walk at her sides as she enters the Throne Room, gazing haughtily upon the rest of the congregation. Her eyes travel around the room, clearly looking for something. She seems agitated when she doesn't find it.

As Yuya calls out her arrival, the Summer Queen actually looks away from her conversation with the Maiden long enough to observe it happening with an expression of unconcealed weariness. It reads very much like 'oh goddamnit not this again.'

She doesn't see Steven, because Steven is wisely hiding among the foliage of one of the enormous pillar trees lining the room. He scampered over to hide behind it as soon as Peridot arrived and told him she was coming.

His mind is racing, still overwhelmed from the conversation he'd just been having with Amethyst. Nothing feels like it makes any sense right now, and all he can do is race for cover. This is all so much.

To anyone looking for him, Steven can be seen leaning back beside the trunk of the tree, looking absolutely shell shocked.

Lambert just lifts the rejected wine glass to his lips and takes a long sip, looking over the edge of the glass as he takes in the reaction of the room to the Rose Queen’s presence — both Carnival members and fae alike. He’ll make eye contact with Rita and Childermass if he can, nodding at them both in faint approval, before he sets the glass down on a table as they pass it, leaving his hands free as he strolls beside the Queen. It’s subtle, and he can’t really do a good job of it since she’s probably able to peer right over him, but he’s tracking her gaze and always a half-step in and out of her line of sight when it’s on his side, keeping her from getting the clearest view.

The Summer Queen’s reaction is interesting, though. Not someone she’s happy to see, then. Which makes Lambert wonder: just how under control does the Summer Queen have her, anyway? The Rose Queen must be balls old, if she was taking care of the Rose all that time ago...

Steven’s not in his line of sight, which is good. Remembering that Steven isn’t the only Rose-touched changeling in the room, he keeps an eye out for Syrlya, too.

Once he's certain the Rose Queen's attention is...well, on basically whatever she can do to find Steven (and thus not him), he'll try sending some reassurance over a soul-chat to Steven. He'd contacted him earlier obviously (and gotten a fairly panicked equivalent of what he could at best interpret as YEAH, I KNOW)- but he suspects any encouragement the boy can get will help him hold out.

Here's hoping the Rose Queen is too dignified to search the foliage... (Hang in there buddy, they've got you covered. Mostly. ~~By the seat of their pants.~~)

Suffice to say it honestly hasn't occurred to him to warn Syrlya.

Strange lingers behind a bit as they enter to scan the room. Spotting Childermass and Ignatius, he gives each of them in turn his best, brief 'trust me, I know what I'm doing' sort of smile, despite the fact that he only has the faintest idea what he's doing in the first place. But, the mood's gotten a little tense and he suspects he knows what the Rose Queen's looking for.

So, Strange decides to deploy one of his many talents in an attempt to distract her at least a little bit: being obnoxious as hell.

"Well, if nobody else is going to start conversation, then I shall," Strange pipes up, a little on the loud side, completely ignoring the fact that the Rose Queen probably doesn't want to have conversation with him to begin with. He picks up the pace a little, matching Lambert and the Rose Queen's pace as they walk. "I realize it's out of place for me to ask, but it's better to spare any potential embarrassment: have you been brought up to date on why this Elysium is happening?"

Syrlya's attention is drawn up and straight to the door whem he gets the announcement. This is his first time actually seeing the Rose Queen and... she's kind of exactly what he'd expect now that he sees her.

He looks over to Ignatius, then meets Lambert's gaze, then watches the Summer Queen and Maiden to see what they plan to do about this.

Steven gets a comforting pat on the shoulder and some whispers from a friend.

"Yooo!" Rin says, quietly, but smiling in a way he hopes is reassuring. "I'll keep watch for you, ok? If she gets close I'll try and stall her!"

He isn't sure it will work, and he hopes that Steven's clever hiding place will work. He gives a thumbs up and goes to stand on the opposite side of the tree, his eyes on the Rose Queen.

Rita's eyes narrow as the Rose Queen enters, not so much at her but more at the two idiots at her side. She doesn't say anything, however, at least not to the Rose Queen herself. She opts to remain standing near Ignatius, arms folded as she watches their latest visitor with a wary look.

"...She changed her hair," she comments, trying to sound as neutral as possible.

Peridot is a bat at the moment, latched onto the tree trunk that Steven's hiding behind... Which, shapeshifting is maaaaybe not polite court behavior, now that she thinks about it? But whatever! She can eavesdrop more easily at a distance this way.

She glances down at Steven, and then at Rin. Having someone who can keep eyes on the queen is certainly helpful. "I have some reservations about the security of this hiding spot," she groans quietly.

Milling about in the throne room, between attempts of talking politely to make friends with some of the Summer fae, Papyrus hears a commotion at the door and turns to see what's happening.

He didn't meet the Rose Queen very many times - not really more than the once, when Steven was taken and Lauren was buried - but the meeting sure left an impression. If this isn't her it's someone who sure looks a lot like her, and given the reactions of everyone else walking in with her or behind her...

Well.

"I hope she'll listen to the Summer Queen and Summer Maiden," he mutters to any of the carnival nearby, because she looks... very stubbornly unfriendly right now. Even more than any of the more judging fae here. That might be a little too much friendship-inspiring even for him to help with.

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