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.

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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.

There's a lot of details about all this that Beau didn't catch, didn't hear, or doesn't remember... but part of it's obvious. They all know each other, it's not on good terms, the Rose Queen is seething about needing to play nice... and she feels entitled to Steven, for reasons that might have to do with all those roses they both have. The Mother, the Ringmaster, and Ignatius apparently aren't the only ones who've kidnapped people from this group.

But the best place to learn more is up in the thick of it, so Beau trails along with the Rose Queen's makeshift entourage, watching and listening for signs that the whole nonviolence agreement's about to fall through.

"It's fine," Amethyst whispers from further up in the foliage, where she is currently twined around the trunk of the tree as a snake with hair. She doesn't look especially like she thinks it's fine; she looks like she's about to vibrate out of her currently-scaly skin with nerves. But she insists, "You just gotta... keep moving around the side if she comes this way. That's all."

"She does that," Ignatius will say to Rita dryly as the Rose Queen makes her conclusions about what she's seeing. She looks at Strange and scowls, apparently not appreciating his presence. Something about him is off-putting. He keeps dropping in and out of her senses based on whether or not he's directly speaking to her.

She looks Strange over, and then she huffs, stomping deeper into the Throne Room regardless of what anyone else is doing. Her attention gravitates towards the Starlight.

"What are you hiding from me?" she snaps at the other fae, moving towards her. "I can feel your presence here, but I can't feel his."

"Perhaps they have chosen to remain unseen by those that would harm them," Starlight says coolly. "It is a shame that you choose to burn so many bridges, Rose Queen."

The Rose Queen honestly looks like she might strike the Starlight for a moment, but she ends up thinking better of it - mostly because she sees something else far more alarming. It's Syrlya.

"This..." she starts, stunned and then furious. "This creature! What have you done?!" She starts marching in Syrlya's direction, like a flower she's bound and determined to pluck from the ground.

Syrlya's expression as the Rose Queen approaches drops into absolute weariness. Sure, she's mad, they're doing this, it isn't like this whole affliction isn't already needlessly inconvenient.

"It was what the Mother of Invention saw fit to do, actually." Just in case it hasn't been established how much Syrlya doesn't actually want his telepathic rose connection. "And you may call me Syrlya."

Is this really different than what she did to Steven?

Lambert doesn’t look alarmed by the development — if anything, it’s encouraging. She can be distracted by someone else with an affinity for the Rose. It puts Syrlya at risk, but the Mesmer doesn’t have the trauma and personal attachments to the Queen Steven does — Lambert trusts him to handle the situation, or at least not escalate it.

“She was experimenting with the Rose under Winter’s prerogative,” Lambert intones. He looks over at Strange, cocking his head and raising his brows at the magician, as though silently asking him what he plans to do next. He has a slight idea he can guess what offends her so terribly about it, but he’s not sure they can lead her to a conclusion that would benefit them ... but it was Strange who’d brought up the idea of directing her ire before. Not, unfortunately, that he’s having much luck bringing her attention to the present moment.

“Turns out all it takes to tap into the power of an ancient fae artifact is a little trial and error. Who’d have guessed, huh?”

Edited 2019-01-03 05:23 (UTC)

Aaah shit. Ginko edges a little further back, slightly behind Herbert now. He doesn't know if she'll particularly care if she notices him, but he doesn't really want to find out, and only looks away from the Rose Queen long enough to glance around the room and try to get an idea of who's where. Just in case everything goes to shit, you know how it is.

"How long d'you think we have before this falls apart," he mutters. Can't do much right now, might as well make snide comments under his breath.

"Not long," says Herbert, who is, himself, standing behind a refreshments table. He doesn't make any particular effort to speak in a hushed tone. "I...begin to doubt the, efficacy of the Elysium, at least, when this individual is present. Do. You think we count enough to break it if she attacks Syr or is it like smashing a glass?"

Steven is visibly shaking, his claws dug into the bark of the tree he's hiding beside. It really does help that Amethyst, Peridot, and Rin are waiting there with him, but watching his so-called 'mother' marching around and threatening people as she looks for him is a lot to bear.

Yet, with what he knows now, it also seems oddly familiar. To be born half of something... to have a mother that is powerful and of noble birth, made as part of an empire that has spent eons harming others.

No wonder he ended up with her, he thinks. The inevitability of it all makes him feel sick.

"This isn't how I wanted this to be," he whispers.

Edited 2019-01-03 06:24 (UTC)

Tanyuu comes around behind Ginko and Herbert both at that point, one set of eyes locked nervously onto the Rose Queen's parade of pique. This does not bode well at all, especially given the instability of the fae in question.

"In theory it should, but it's our word against the rest of the Court's. No one really wants to admit to having earned the bite after kicking a pet dog." She puts a steadying hand on Ginko's shoulder, for her sake as much as his.

"The Rose," she hisses at Lambert, "is mine." She turns back to Syrlya, not reaching to touch or strike him but looking like she's really like to. "This changeling is mine! The Winter Court has taken what was mine and turned it into... this!"

She gestures at all of Syrlya in disgust.

"I can sense my power within it, even now... I demand to take back what is mine!"

Syrlya shifts on his feet, folding his arms lightly as he considers how to respond to that.

"I am connected to the Blue Rose now, but I recall that it originates from the very first of the fae Queens and is not your creation. Its power is its own." He looks sidelong to the Summer Maiden and Queen for confirmation, although he knows he doesn't need it. "You were given responsibility of its care, of course, before losing it... but can you claim that your ownership of it is greater than the Queen herself? The Maiden?"

Edited 2019-01-03 06:43 (UTC)

“This isn’t the Athenaeum,” Lambert adds on, in a measured, thoughtful tone. “You can’t just make another deal with the Count of Crows to get your hands on a single changeling.”

Maybe. Possibly. Lambert has no idea if the bloodbond counts as violence ... but perhaps it must. The Count had dropped the Elysium before he tried controlling Childermass, and he’s not sure if the Summer Queen’s aware of the details of what the Queen did there. If that was something considered within her right to choose as the leader of the mission chasing the Rose, or if bargaining with Winter was never part of what she had the authority to do.

“What was it you said then? ‘Give me him and I’ll cooperate with your plans,’ wasn’t it? Sorry we couldn’t let making promises to Winter work out for you.”

Edited 2019-01-03 07:36 (UTC)

Strange had been quiet, mulling things over with a little frown. He knows what he wants to do and what the ideal scenario he'd like them all to walk away from...it just involves trying to find a way to get them there.

"Why worry about one changeling when there's an opportunity to get the Rose back itself?" he calls out, watching the Rose Queen all the while. "You do know what happened to the Beast, don't you?"

Rin leans against the tree, snaking his tail around to wrap around Steven's wrist reassuringly. He's very happy Peribat and Amesnake are there, though -- if things go south, hopefully they can whisk him away while Rin distracts. Or, you know, tries to. He knows the Starlight did something to help with that, too -- her help is the only reason the Rose Queen hasn't sniffed the poor kid out yet.

"I don't think this is how anyone wanted this to go..." he glances over at the Summer Maiden and the Queen, "Including those guys!"

"Strange!" Rita hisses, raising her voice for the first time since this began. She'd been hoping to stay on the sidelines, preferably being ignored, but he's getting awfully close to crossing a line that Rita can't bring herself to tolerate. "Don't entice her with things that aren't on the table."

Lambert's glance skips back over to Rita when she speaks. With any luck, the Rose Queen will exert the same selective attention she's always exercised up til now, and focus instead on Strange and Syrlya. He'll still make a quick, short hand gesture at her across the room, one other militia members may recognize -- like they're running a scouting mission in the field instead of picking and prying at a dangerous fae's buttons.

Steady. There isn't a reason to freak out yet, not until they see how the fae respond -- to Syrlya's pointed invoking of fae authority, Lambert's questioning the Rose Queen's undivided loyalty to the Summer Court, and Strange's own question.

Of course, if the Rose Queen doesn't know about the Beast's fate, it's questionable whether that's because she didn't care to absorb that information or someone judged it unwise to tell her.

The moment Strange makes that suggestion he stiffens- but for now both he and Marishi hold their tongues. The air is heavy enough, and speech is not their strength as they have painfully discovered. Though he does give a small nod to the daemon to send her nearer to Syrlya for now.

He has to agree with Rita though- not only because that really isn't (shouldn't!) be up for grabs...but how would Strange even deliver?? He tries not to think of what would happen if an Official bite at an impossible deal comes, instead focusing on his grip on Yuuya's shoulder, and on trying to give Steven some encouragement from afar.

There are a lot of semi-antagonistic things being said to her from all directions, which mostly just makes her more frustrated and aggressive.

"The Rose was mine before this Queen was ever created!" she snaps. "This Summer Queen has never even seen its form!"

The Rose Queen then turns to the crowd at large.

"Why am I being made to tolerate thieves? They've stolen the Rose and they've stolen my child - and they've hidden away a traitor to which I have delivered a curse of retribution! I will not be deceived!"

She looks over to glare at Strange in particular.

Yuya pulls against Gongenzaka's hold, now enough to escape it but enough to shake it as he stands straighter.

"We didn't steal Steven! He left you, because you hurt and used him." His shoulders tremble a little, and maybe that was too outspoken. But the Rose Queen's continued disregard of Steven's welfare still angers him. He hasn't seen him since she came in, so Yuya can only assume he's hiding. Someone should stand up.

Her little bat heart skips a beat when the Rose Queen confronts Syrlya, and again when Strange speaks up about the rose. Just, in general, this is all just extremely nerve-wracking to listen to, and also infuriating? Peridot's glad Yuya speaks up, because she's practically vibrating on the spot listening to the Rose Queen whine about what a victim she is in all this.

"Yeah, we didn't steal her child, she stole OUR Steven!" the bat hisses fiercely. Not that anyone other than the Tree Gang can hear her.

Strange succeeds at keeping his composure as the Rose Queen glares at him. He took Ignatius's words to heart all that time ago, he's been working on training his will and hiding his emotions, so the feeling of sheer panic that bubbles up stays pushed down in his chest and his expression remains a composed neutral.

"Believe me, I want nothing more than to return the Rose to you." Because it's obvious to him that the fruits of the Ringmaster's plan to get the Miracles were four traumatized people and absolutely nothing else. Likewise, give the crazy person what she wants, maybe she'll stop being so insistent on the other two.

And, before other people can remind her again about Steven or, even worse, Childermass, Strange just keeps on talking. "An expedition is going to the Wyldlands to retrieve the Great Beast from the Huntsman's captivity. If you join, the Great Beast will be in your debt. And I'm certain that she can part with a Miracle or something of equal value as repayment."

Edited 2019-01-04 01:34 (UTC)

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