- IC Time: Thu Mar 07 12:30:21 2019 ***
- OOC Time: Thu Mar 07 12:30:21 2019 ***
SETTING: Winter still reigns in the mortal world. In the Hedge, temps and climates are dominated by she who wears the crown. The Library of Fate's Harvest is noted with winter elements. Cooler temperatures, motes of snow and foggy breath appear here and there as Freeholders travel between here and the rest of the Freehold. Somewhere within the Library, Aaron sits in a high-back chair. Other chairs and couches are lined around him for others to sit. A tray rests in the center of a stone table, offering tea, coffee, whiskey, and other drinks for those interested. Resting atop the chair is a lanky feline Hedgebast, whose Cheshire smile is as sharp-tooth and creepy as Aaron's. A meeting that was called earlier was changed slightly, due to the small number of those able to make it, but still wanting to honor those that came to speak with the Custodian-Elect, he remains idle with an opened book in his lap, and another by his chair that he writes in.
Nathania walks into the meeting, carrying her knitting in a drawstring bag separate from her messenger bag. She nods to Aaron, grabs a cup of tea, and settles in near enough to hear. Her knitting today is the pale yellow of a Winter sunrise, being made into socks. (It's not Hedgespun, though. Just yarn that color.) She sips her tea occasionally and relaxes. "Hello, old... friend. How are you... doing today?"
Whiskey is apparently going informal to this Custodian meeting, his first since getting back. He can be heard griping while he enters, as he wipes the back of hi left hand on the leg of an already grease-stained set of denim coveralls, deftly maintaining hold of a book in that hand. "Should have stopped working an hour ago, why is it I can never manage to stop on time?" This 4' tall ebony tree man is carrying a book in his left hand, a bow and quiver on his back, and a one liter stein of Jim Bean Reserve 90 in his right hand. Fall leaves in origami shapes seem to cascade about his feet, swirls by his Autumn mantle, and a bitter November wind carries them in tight dust devils that break the leaves apart. Amongst the leaves are tiny rusted mechanical figures, metal and twig toy soldiers with miniature pumpkin heads.
He eyes Aaron, and gives the Darkling a broad smile and nod. "Well met", he says as he collapses into a chair. "How goes it?". He looks to Nathania, "Hello..I don't think we've met. I go by whiskey." Appropriately enough, he takes a sip from his stein. Wyrd 7, Mantle 4, SM 2 (Wyrd-Steeped)
With so many strongly connected to the Wyrd than he, it doesn't show in Aaron's demeanor his comfort/discomfort level is. As the two arrive, he stands to greet them. "I'm doing well, old friend," he says to Nathania. His voice--though just above a quiet whisper, still holds a strong presence. "Now and then, when I feel myself become too hyper-focused on my multiple projects--I recall that time in Aleswhich that we spent talking. It's what helps me remember that I'm not a machine meant to run without rest." To Whiskey, he gives a nod to the man. His Mantle not as strong as either of you both, still flicks and moves around him in shadowy tendrils, fog, and the fading in and out of ghostly moans. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Whiskey." He gives a partial formal bow as he gives name to his face. "Dr. Aaron Fletcher."
Nathania smiles and nods to Aaron, before turning to Whiskey. "I am... Nathania Winters, Blackbird... Bishop." She nods, watching him. "I am happy... to meet you." Her button eyes are bright.
His head peeks out from around his stein, and Whiskey actually goes so far as to set it down. He gives Aaron a slightly quizzical look, but it is momentary before he stands, gives a short bow. "Ah, I should...introduce myself properly. I go by Whiskey Tango Foxtrot here, William Tango Fry in the human world. Whiskey to my friends, either way. Vizier, maker or things. Basically, I know some stuff, I make some stuff, and I grow some stuff." He pauses at this, and his branches rattle slightly.
Whiskey continues with, "Though of late I really need to go harvest goblin fruit. I need more glamour, and hate getting it through fear. I am hoping to organize an expedition this weekend, where we can all share in the bounty. You are both definitely invited."
Aaron nods to the introduction. "I tend to lean more on formalities from time to time. It's who I am. Apologies." At the mention of expeditions into the hedge, he says "an expedition for fruit would be quite interesting. And what sort of things do you make? Do you have a general focus on type of things? Materials?"
Nathania smiles warmly. "Welcome, then, Whiskey. I love your... chosen... name," the doll says with amusement. "I don't do.. Hedge trips anymore, however. Apologies."
Whiskey eyes Nathania, a sad warmth in his eyes. "I understand. I can't seem to avoid it, it's a kind of wanderlust. And I have to have glamour. Yeah, the name comes from a military saying I heard while serving in the military. I've served a bit, the Great War, the Second World War, Vietnam." He adds the last absentmindedly, before retaking his seat and sipping more Jim Bean.
Kip emerges from somewhere in the depths of the Library. There are, after all, areas still not quite open for anyone but the Librarian. Or the Former Librarian Known As Custodian-Elect. "Lost track of time," he says in a whispery apology, not having been present for the set-up for the meeting or the earlier portion that didn't solidify as far as events go. There's a lackluster quality to the lightning around him. His glowy eyes are dimmed slightly. He needs to shave. His hair was once pulled into that ridiculous loose attempt at a man bun that just looks like a sloppy half-assed ponytail with strands that came loose around his face. He's apparently been sinking himself into his work, apparently, the last couple of days. Dust motes trail along in his wake that have nothing to do with his Wyrd and everything to do with having been playing in dust.
Nathania smiles at Whiskey. "Thank you... for serving," she says sincerely, before turning to Kip. "Hey." Her smile is warm to him, too. She offers him a sympathetic look. "Busy?"
Aaron is about to say something, but sees two others arrive. "Please. The more the merrier." He says to Whiskey, while gesturing to Kip. "I don't know if you have met the Custodian's Librarian, Kip. Should I be away or unavailable, Kip is a most reliable go-to."
Haruki's here with Nathania, but he sort of zoned out and he's been folding origami figures out of the pages of a book - OH NO - thankfully it's his own dictionary of scrabble words. But no, now it's a bunch of animals A is for Antelope B is for Beaver and he's in the zone and yeah... this is why Haruki probably shouldn't be in the library.
Nathania looks over at Haruki and nudges him lightly before hugging him tightly. She's quiet otherwise.
The new arrivals get warm smiles and looks of welcome from Whiskey, even though he seems to only know Haruki. Whiskey stands, giving Kip a deep look of respect, and bows.
"Custodian-Elect, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am called Whiskey Tango Foxtrot here in the Hedge, William Tango Fry in the mortal world, and Whiskey to all. I am a Vizier, a maker of things and a field researcher. I make tokens, as well as hedgespun weapons and art. In the mortal world I am a mechanic and inventor." He takes a sip of his Jim Bean from the 1 liter stein before continuing, looking at Haruki.
"Greetings! I have that sheaf of the origami paper for you, I just need to drop it by sometime. It is good to see you again.", he says the the artful dodger.
And people wonder why Kip has a reputation for banning people from the Library. Haruki is a prime example of why! But before he can say anything, Kip realizes that it's not one of the Library's offerings, so he lets it slide. For now. He still keeps a wary eye on it, though. "Studying up?" he inquires of Haruki quietly, offering a weary but sly smile before nodding a greeting to Nathania and then turning toward Aaron. He lets his gaze slide from Aaron over to Whiskey before Nathania is given a verbal response. He turns back to her and replies, "Quite. I've been cleaning. Ran out of things to clean in my apartment and shop." Hey, things get super clean when he lets his OCD and anxiety flare up. But Whiskey is looked at again and he offers an attempt at a smile. "Hello."
Haruki nods at Kip. "Yes." And then he looks down at... yeah he's not been reading. "I have to because if I don't then it won't be a challenge." He leans against Nathania and offers her a kangaroo from the K pages. He looks genuinely surprised by Whiskey. "Oh thank you, that's so kind of you." But there seems to be no spark of recollection of why he's getting some paper. "Could you teach me to make magic things?" he asks curiously. "Sorcerer's Apprentice!" he says to Kip. "Magic brooms. Magic Broombas."
Whiskey looks sideways at Haruki, "I can mentor you about our world, in return for glamour, if you'd like?"
"I don't disapprove of studying, but you don't look lie that's what you're doing," Kip points out good-naturedly. He still has that sense of doom and gloom around him, his shoulders hunched more than usual and his posture maybe even slightly worse than before, but he manages a slight smile anyway for his friend. then it's back to Whiskey that his attention goes. "Nice to meet you. You a new recruit then? I'm Kip. Kip Kensington. Bronze Beylik and owner of Homepage bookstore in town." he offers a hand to shake.
"Glamour?" Haruki asks. "I already had a mentor. Although he's away and I miss him very much but he taught me all about things. But not how to make real magic." He looks sad when Kip says that he's not studying. "What's Bronze Beylik?"
His chair slides back as Whiskey stands to return the handshake. His shake is firm and dry, his hands callused and rough like unhanded wood in places. "Yes, well I was a recruit when I came here a year ago but Aaron promoted me to Custodian as a result of my research on the Lover at Owlsback library, which is where I've been for the last, well, little under a year." Talking is hard work, he takes another sip of Jim Bean. No rest for the wicked, or the addicted. "Ah, a bookstore. I should stop in, I love to read science fiction and fantasy. I go to a lot of cons.", he adds.
Whiskey turns his head at Haruki's comment, "Think of it as the spark of creativity. Everybody has different amounts, and sometimes you can give some of that spark to our kind..who need it to survive in health. Everyone can use a mentor, in my opinion. But no worries, I thought I'd offer."
"Year ago?" Kip echoes as he nods slowly. "That would be why I don't remember running into you before. A year ago I was still... well mostly keeping to myself. I don't venture out much. Just here, the shop, my apartment over it or the cafe down the block really. I like to keep a low profile." What, is he being /stalked/? Probably if you count Enid. He glances over to Haruki. "I never told you about the stupidity of Fate and the Wyrd and finding a spear head jammed up my backside? Well, mostly a Bey is uhm... well, kind of a politician? Which is why I have no idea why I was picked."
"You do?" Haruki asks, excited. "Do you cosplay? I used to go to lots too!" He shakes his head adamantly. "No. I need all the creativity I can get. No taking it. It's mine. I don't want to share any of my soul. Or my emotions." He looks at Kip. "You really should get out even more then. You'll go stir crazy." He looks at Kip. "Oh that sounds painful. Being a politician. And the rest too. You don't believe in yourself enough though and you should."
Kip's nose crinkles and the doom and gloom settles on his shoulders once again. "There's nowhere else I ever need to go. I should just stay in here. The shop and home just aren't very interesting anymore. They make me think of... well, you know. With Bets as acting manager, I can just leave her to run the shop and I'll just stay here in the stacks."
A sigh from Whiskey. "I understand. I wouldn't try to harvest your emotions without your consent though. " He looks at Haruki in sympathy, warmly. To Kip he says, "Are you sure? After..well, my incident in White Chapel, the Viziers drilled into me that I needed to have frequent human contact to combat the lure of..there, if I didn't want to become like them. Each their own, and you are doubtless stronger than I, but for me that advice has been a great boon. Perhaps we could do a group movie night...maybe Rocky Horror Picture Show?", he asks.
"Okay we're going to play scrabble, maybe have a game's night thing going on?" Haruki suggests. "That'd be fun wouldn't it? And you're invited to movies. And uh, woudl you help me with some books, is that the sort of thing you can do?" He smiles and nods at Whiskey. "That would be so much fun. Rocky Horror's fun. We could use the wayhouse? Or well Logan has this amazing cinema that barely gets used. He lives in this humungous show home mansion that's like sick, and we just go along and use his stuff when we want and he's usually okay about it. November was running a roleplaying game too if you wanted to come along to that. It's dungeons and dragons and Itsy was playing a lawyer."
"I'll settle for staying home and drinking," Kip says in a low voice, giving a slight shrug of his hunched down shoulders. "But we are definitely playing Scrabble. Maybe I can make it a thing to do at the shop during the day sometime. I mean for the general public. Not for us. We are /not/ playing in public." He pauses. "I don't know Rockey Horror. But Logan does have a lot of money and a lot of nice things."
A one-liter stein of Jim Bean is raised in toast by Whiskey. "To drinking." Well, its now more a half-liter of Jim Bean after the drinking Whiskey has done. "Scrabble sounds good. Rocky Horror is a movie, an an experience. The audience plays the part of the characters as the movie plays, it's fun. Anybody mind if I take point on organizing movie night?"
"That'd be great," Haruki says to Whiskey. Haruki doesn't organize things. He shakes his head at Kip and then goes over to give him a hug.
Kip doesn't mind one bit, so shakes his head at Whiskey. He reaches out to wrap Haruki in a hug. Because Haruki loves hugs and Kip loves his buddy. He even keeps an arm draped over his shoulders. "Did you guys know it's International Reading Month? About all I'm organizing are a couple of reading things at the shop and that's only because it needs the business." He frowns for a moment in thought. "Which really isn't anything Custodian related and I feel like I'm getting everyone off track here if there was actual business going on."
A side eye is given to Kip. Whiskey quickly stops though, and says "Well, what are the pressing things we need to research. I hate to be the Wizened Downer, but with Silences and the increased Hob issues and increased Gentry activity I imagine we're helping to prep for a war footing. How can we best help with that?"
"That sounds great," Haruki smiles. "Maybe do something for the children? Reading's important. Why don't you tell us about the things you have planned? You should also go by both the libraries and see what they're doing." He encourages. "Can go with me if you want?" And it's back to business. "You're not a downer. I needed to investigate this hob king who lost his heart, only Carter and Lolly know what was going on better, and maybe they've found his heart by now."
Kip seems agreeable to the library things to judge by his nods as that is mentioned, and he studies Whiskey for a minute. "I put together what I could find out and passed it along to Zee-- er, her highness, our Queen of the moon and snakes." There's a grin as he says this. Hey, Zillah is after all a very good friend so he can tease her mercilessly even when she's not present. "I don't know the status of any quests or anything. I'm just the collector of information. I don't venture into the Hedge much to go find information myself. Every time I go into the Hedge I end up losing my mind or getting stabbed by my own spear head because I kept ignoring it."
-> >> Whiskey to Here << <-===========================================
Rolled 1 Success
< 3 6 6 7 7 8 >
===============================-> >> Intelligence + Supernatural Lore (Hobs) No Flags << <-
Whiskey nods, "I have heard of him I think, something from a long time ago, but will need to think on it to remember what it was. Maybe I can help them. I am known to the hobs as a friend, as much as they consider anyone a friend."
Haruki nods at Whiskey. And he's then called away to do something... something important!
Whiskey looks at Kip, brows furrowed. "Now that it is just us, I confess that I am at a bit of a loss. I want to help with Custodian matters, but am unsure where to start. In the past the freeholds I've served have been bigger, and around longer, so it was easy to find a niche to shine in. I would welcome any advice."
Kip slips into a seat, his mood a bit darker and more pensive. "I may not be the best person to ask. I mean, yes i'm the Librarian. Which means that I'm second only to Aaron in our tiny part of the Freehold. However, I... I've been a bit distracted as of late. Less involved than I should be. My Valentine's Day present was my fiancee deciding to leave me for her true love of ballet. However, we always need help. Mostly with gathering information or sometimes venturing to the Markets to get things we need."
Whiskey nods, considering Kip's words. "Still better than me at the moment, and your taking the time to answer is much appreciated. And right now, the hob king and the silences are what we need information on?"
Kip nods. "Seems like it. I'll ask our illustrious Queen if she needs anything else and if so, I'll be sure to let you know."
Whiskey nods. "Then I am grateful. How should I send word of movie night? I have a cell phone." He holds up an honest to god flip phone of ancient design.
That's a cell phone? Kip just stares at it for a moment before shaking it off. He is, after all, a millennial and was one before being Taken. "Uhm, does it do text messages?" He rummages in his back pocket to pull out his wallet and rifle through it to find a card for Homepage Books. 'Here, I use my cell number for the store," he says, handing it over. "I like texts more than calls but i answer if it rings." With the way his voice is a strange whisper and the fact that he's a Librarian, he must like quiet.
Whiskey looks embarrassed a bit. "Yes, it does texts. I am getting a new phone soon." And enters the number in his phone, painstakingly slow. "Will do. Texts. I will be at the Court as well, in case we don't get movie night before then."
Kip does manage to at least look good natured at the teasing he was doing about the phone. "Hey, I was ahead of the game. I went /in/ knowing everything about tech even if half the time they wouldn't let me /have/ my phone where I was. Then I ended up over There and popped out and it was just a couple weeks later. And nobody even realized I was gone. Anyway, you need help with phones, let me know. I've been told i can be a good teacher." he sighs and looks back at the stacks. "I should probably get back to cleaning. I've almost got that section done that I've been plugging away at for months now. It was nice meeting you. Text me. We'll... we'll make plans."
| 