View source for Log:Christmas Sorrows

{{ Log
| cast = [[Nathania_Winters|Nathania]] & [[Mavis_Octavia_Baines|Mavis]]
| summary = Mavis asks Nathania if she'd like to meet her for coffee on Christmas morning to clear out some bad air on the mortal's end. They wind up talking about more Fae things and Nathania shreds her Mask.
| gamedate = 2019.12.25
| gamedatename = 
| subtitle = 
| location = The Old Manse, Kitchen
| categories = Social, Changeling
| log = 
<br>{{Tab}}Texts had been sent. Mavis got Nathania's number through her girlfriend, Amity, and tentatively reached out to the Lost woman. Sure, it was Christmas and people might be busy, but the more Mavis thought about it... How many of these Lost had family in Vermont for the holidays? She certainly didn't, although, human she may be. So, texts had been sent, an invitation extended for coffee at the Baines' manse.
<br>{{Tab}}So, it's about mid-morning when Mavis opens the door to her home to find a blonde Lost standing on her front porch. She's dressed in some pajamas that look warm and distinctly too unrumpled to have been what Mavis had slept in. Skyblue tanktop, fuzzy plaid pajama bottoms in black and pale blue. She has showered, too, hair still slightly damp and smelling citrusy. 
<br>{{Tab}}"You can leave your coat and stuff here," she indicates, still in the mudroom. Coats are hung, shoes have been kicked under a bench lining the wall, and scarves hang from a rack near the door. Her tawny skin glows like bronze and with mortal vitality as Mavis leads Nathania into the kitchen. 
<br>{{Tab}}"There's coffee," she notes, smiling somewhat shyly over a shoulder. This particular Lost made her feel a little self-conscious, a little silly for ways she'd acted in the past. That's why Mavis has invited Nathania over. To clear the air. "Thanks for.. For coming by, I really appreciate it. Merry Christmas."
<br>{{Tab}}She had gone out earlier this morning to buy donuts, which are in a box on the table. Assorted styles. 
<br>{{Tab}}"You do drink coffee, right? We've got tea, too. Amity drinks a lot of tea."




"Merry... Christmas," Nathania says cheerfully. She's oblivious to a lot of things. Mavis knowing... anything, really, and her awkwardness with Nat. Nat carries a couple of small, brightly wrapped packages, and hands one to Mavis once she has her top layer of clothing shed. "It's... nothing special, but... hostess gifts, and the holiday, and all." She grins impishly. "Besides. It's cold... in Vermont." She sets Amity's near the doughnuts and grabs one, a Vanilla Creme, and settles in. "Coffee, please, yes. It's cold. And too early... for tea." She runs her free, non-icinged hand through her hair, loose as it is. She's in PJs too, warm flannel ones, that she just decided to wear because it's Christmas. Pink with white accents.


<br>{{Tab}}"You look super cute, by the way," notes Mavis with a flash of her more usual smile. She's trying to dispell some of her self-induced discomfort through flattery, but it was true. She accepts the gift, color tinting her cheekbones because she didn't have anything to offer back. "Thank you! I- I didn't get you anything. Hang on, lemme get us BOTH some coffee."
<br>{{Tab}}For now, she sets the gift down on the table with a murmurred, "Help yourself to the donuts." That's what she'd went out and got 'em for, after all and when Nathania helps herself to a vanilla creme, Mavis grins about it. "Good choice."
<br>{{Tab}}The mortal moves to the coffee pot to pour two cups, one for Nathania and one for herself. She tilts her head to peer over a shoulder back at Nathania with her visible brow arched. 
<br>{{Tab}}"Cream and sugar?"



"Yes, please," Nat says, before shaking her head. "I don't... give gifts... because I expect stuff back. You welcomed... me into your home... on a day spent with family. That's a big... deal, Mavis." Her eyes are bright, cheerful. "Thank you." She seems touched by the mortal's acceptance of her--despite everything.
<br>{{Tab}}Nat moves to sit.


<br>{{Tab}}Yep. Mavis Octavia Baines is definitely awkward, although Nathania might not know her well enough to pin down the mortal's unease. Her voice is hitched a little higher than usual, straining the teensiest bit, and her smiles are much more nervous and less assured than they typically would be. She has anxious movements, hands often flitting to tuck hair behind her ears or smoothing over her pajamas to needlessly straighten them out. 
<br>{{Tab}}She returns to the table, bearing two cups of coffee with cream and sugar stirred in. A cup is set in front of Nathania, then Mavis takes a seat at the table caddy-corner to her, smoothing out her clothes in that nervy way again. 
<br>{{Tab}}"Was sort of a split-second decision to text, I wasn't sure about bothering you during the holidays," she explains, sliding her ringed fingers around her coffee mug to warm them. Mavis goes quiet, thinking about saying something of Nathania's assumed lack of blood relations, but she thinks better of it. She changes tact. "I.. I don't have anyone left except Amity and a few friends to spend Christmas with. It's not sad or anything, hard to miss family that you never met." This was something of a lie, but a snowy-white one, at least. Mavis peers over at Nathania, biting her lip like she has something to say but isn't sure how to go about it. Finally, she steels herself, nods about something she has decided like she's going to go through with it. 
<br>{{Tab}}"Look, I'm sorry," blurts Mavis before her nerve fails her. "I know I've been kinda weird around you for awhile now." Avoiding Nathania would be a better word for it. Their last run-in had been at the library when she'd been guardedly under the assumption that Nathania and Amity were having a torrid love affair. Mavis' face turns a ruddy scarlet. "I thought.. Well, I thought you and Amity were fucking around, but then she told me the truth. And, uhm. Yeah-- That makes a lot more sense. I was kind of hoping to grow up a little before the year was out, you're Amity's friend and that's important for her so.. I don't want to make things harder for her than they need to be."





"The truth?" Nathania asks softly, her eyes peering into Mavis's with soft affection. "I mean... I'm polyamorous, honey, I'm not... hiding anything about my... love affairs." She grins crookedly. "And I was... spending Christmas with... Briar, my nesting partner, but he needed to... go for a run anyways." She shrugs and grins. "Trainers." Rolling her eyes, Nat continues. "I like you, Mavis. We all... fuck up."


<br>{{Tab}}"Well-!" Mavis flusters in a very un-Mavislike fashion. "I didn't know that. Amity was acting strange and-- let's be honest-- she couldn't carry a lie if someone gave her a bucket to put it in." She grins in an impish way that suggests that the mortal found this quality endearing about her partner. "And, hey, that's cool. Us too." Poly, she meant. 
<br>{{Tab}}She drops her gaze down to her lap for a second then looks back up. "Mind if I open your gift? Or, like, should I go stick it under the tree?" But, Mavis picks up the wrapped present anyway, turning it in her hands. Paper tears. Mavis doesn't look up while she unwraps. "So, what's your nestguy like? Trainer-- sounds fit." 
<br>{{Tab}}-'eeyyyyyy



Grinning, Nat shrugs. "It's okay. I don't... really come across... as the type." She watches Mavis open the present. "It's Christmas, anyway." And then... a pair of handknit socks, mysteriously in Mavis's size--or a close approximation--appear, in blaze orange--the color hunters wear.


<br>{{Tab}}Mavis squees as she lifts the pair of socks away, depositing the empty box on the table with the pile of wrapping paper. "This are THE best!" The human ducks down in her seat to rip her house slippers off, her fuzzy gray socks, and slides the new ones onto her feet. She models them, flexing an ankle. "OooOo, so cozy," she croons, eyelids lidding like a lizard basking in the sun on a warm, flat rock. "And, does anyone come across as the type? I mean, c'mon. It's not like I'm going to just assume evil fairies are real, but it DID seem really odd that Amity would go to the effort of concealing an affair when.. there was no reason for it. I figured you were, like, in a monogamous relationship or something and she was doing it for -your- sake."



Nathania blinks at Mavis. "I was wondering... if you... knew that part." She sighs. "Can you see me? My real... self? Yet?"


<br>{{Tab}}Mavis shakes her head hard enough to send her black hair swishing. She lifts her cup of coffee, blowing on it, then sips to stall for time. The tawny-skinned artist had somewhat expected this. Most Lost reacted with surprise when they learned she was in on their secret. 
<br>{{Tab}}"No," she says, lowering the cup back to the table with both hands. The mug clicks against the wood. "I can't see you... thank you for the socks."



Nodding, Nat relaxes softly. But only softly, only faintly, her eyes on Mavis. "You're welcome. Wear... them in good health, Mavis." Her words are sincere, her meaning heartfelt. She sips her coffee, eats her doughnut, and is silent for a long moment before she asks, "Do... you have anyone protecting you right now, Mavis?"


<br>{{Tab}}"Yes." An immediate scowl twists Mavis lips. She sniffs, moodily, then adds, "A ridiculous Summer pledged herself to me." Unbidden, by the sounds of it. 



Nathania nods. "Okay," she murmurs. "That's... a start. I know you... hate it. I know you're street-wise and smart... as all hell, hon." She KNOWS. She may have been trying to get your shoe size for a while before giving up and asking Amity. "But fuck, Mav, They are nothing... to mess with." Her face holds so much concern for her new friend.


<br>{{Tab}}She shoots Nathania something of a dirty look, but it's not meant. That resentment and temper is likely prickled by the aforementioned Summer and Mavis huffs a sigh before glaring down into her coffee cup like it had just said something rude to her. 
<br>{{Tab}}"Yeah," she mutters. "I know, I just don't see how staying under the radar AND joining the Freehold are, like, related. I'm not one of you guys, just seems smarter to stay out of it. I mean, I've lived my whole life unnoticed, most people DO."



"But by... knowing us. By loving Amity. You're... a target now. You're shiny, you're new, you're..." she exhales, thinking. "You're a new... player on the checkerboard unkinged yet, if you'll... forgive... the awful metaphor on the fly."


<br>{{Tab}}Mavis sighs again and shrugs her shoulders feebly. 
<br>{{Tab}}"Mmh- so you guys keep saying," she hums in agreement, but there's a hint of reserved defiance in her soft voice. "But, the way I see it." Ah, here it is. "If something happens to me then there's no point, is there? Like putting yourself in shark-infested waters when they've already turned scarlet. Let's be honest, I have NO defences against the Gentry. I couldn't even put off one of you guys if you decided that you really wanted to hurt me."



Humming, Nathania considers. "We have ways... of helping you, though. Has Amity... laid those out yet? That's not my... place to really ... describe them."


<br>{{Tab}}"I mean, yeah," answers Mavis, although she doesn't sound sure. She licks her lips, dabbing them with her tongue while thoughtfully eying Nathania. In truth, Mavis wasn't certain if Amity had told her everything. Pretty sure, but there was a guilty sliver of doubt. "Well, in the beginning she.. didn't want me to know stuff. Not maliciously or anything, it just TERRIFIES her," Mavis impresses, sighing with sympathy for her stressing girlfriend, "which I get. But, uhm... I'm supposed to be ensorcelled, right? Then pledge to this Freehold?"



"That's right," Nat agrees. "Did... she describe... Ensorcellment?"


<br>{{Tab}}Another look of guilt flashes across Mavis' expression. "November did, I- I think I am going to ask her to do it," she tells Nathania, hiding her face behind her coffee and stealing a shallow sip. That was.. an odd turn. Mavis lowers her mug and explains in a nervous rush, "I just feel like Amity's too.. emotional about it, like.. I dunno how to explain it." That it felt like fae wedding vows or something and that was a whole lot a lot too soon? "But, I think November will do it. Maybe-- I dunno."



"I think someone needs... to," Nat says quietly. "November's... a good... choice." Her eyes take Mavis in. Her nervousness. Her fear. Autumns would get a hearty Glamour meal from this mortal.

"I am... a counselor, of sorts, of Lost. I can... extend the talking services... to you. The magic ones... may not work on you."


<br>{{Tab}}She's usually not so nervous! But, yes, Mavis is a tasty snakk no matter how you look at it. She felt things deeply and this? This ran fingers along a chord of anxiety that the mortal had been carrying for a long, long time. How else could she have managed to evade ensorcellment and pledging for so long?
<br>{{Tab}}When Nathania says that about November, agrees with her on the matter, Mavis exhales in relief then looks up at Nathania. 


"Really?" It's clear by her expression that she had anticipated some kind of rebuke or defense of Amity's claim to her. But, that was the crux of the issue, wasn't it? "I mean, wow, I didn't expect you to say that. Thank you." Then, she pauses to consider Nathania's offer. Actually consider it. "Tempting-- but. Can't I just talk to you like this? We don't need magic or, like, an office to just gab like girls."



"That's... what I'm offering. Girl talk. I can't use... my magic on you, I'm pretty sure," Nat says with a smile, nodding to the rest with a soft affirmation. "I'm just saying. I am here... for you, day and night. You're a friend."


<br>{{Tab}}"Pft-!" Mavis smooths her pajamas out then tucks her black hair behind the shells of her ears, smiling over at Nathania. "Shit. I see why Amity likes you." Then, her grin winks out and Mavis purses her lips, thoughtfully. Her gaze takes Nathania in with a quiet, calculating intensity. "November said something the other day," she mentions, leading into whatever point or conclusion she'd come to. "That if I preferred more "sedate" company than Summers then I ought to seek out a Winter. Or a Spring."



Nathania blushes, pleased. "Really? Why?" Before watching Mavis. And she nods. "I'm Winter. But I also... have Spring Goodwill, meaning... Springs like me."


<br>{{Tab}}She laughs, low and delighted. There's something a little mischievous about that dusky laugh of Mavis' and she battles her grin as she looks at the blushy Nathania. 
<br>{{Tab}}"It's just funny how right she was," observes Mavis, fondly. "I only know one Summer that I'm certain of and.. ugh! Now that I -know- she's pissing me off on purpose-- well, I knew that before-- it just pisses me off more that she's only doin' it for the glamour."



"Not all... Summers are... that bad." Nat pauses to think. "I can't think... of any examples you'd... know, mind." Her grin turns wry. "But. I think... you're good, hun." Her expression is fond. "I think you're gonna... be loved and... so, so protected, all around. Not just by this... Summer, but... I'll keep an eye too, if that's ok." Note that the Winter asks permission.

She won't let Mavis see her doing it if Mavis doesn't give permission, mind, because Nat is protective of Her People, of which Mavis is one now. This meet 'n' greet has really made her grow in Nat's estimation.


<br>{{Tab}}"I don't want to be protected," Mavis protests, crinkling her nose. "Geez, what is it with you guys and having to protect folks? But, thanks," sighs the mortal with a rueful shake of her head. This was getting... really old. "I know you're just offering 'cos you care, thanks for asking, at least. And, Thea-- that's the Summer-- isn't too bad. Stupid jerkface. If you could do me one favor, though?" Mavis' expression fill with hope, as if Nathania had just presented her another gift to unwrap. "Just keeping being friends with Amity, I think she needs someone to talk to who's.. who's not-me." She deflates the teensiest bit. "And, I know she's not thrilled about what Thea did. Thea did NOT ask and made some knightly pledge just to make a point."



"Thea what? That's... absolute bullshit, really," Nat murmurs. "And of course. Amity's wonderful. She's... knitworthy, even though... she knits herself." Her expression's fond. "I won't... protect you, if you're that... adamant. Pledge to November, at least."

"And do me a favor." Her expression grows wistful even as it's serious. "Don't... freak out when you see us... in the true sense, okay?"


<br>{{Tab}}Mavis' eyebrows shoot up at the swears uttered from Nathania's lips. Those words had been spoken quietly, but she appreciated the earnest sincerity of them. 
<br>{{Tab}}"Thanks," she says again. "You're really the first who has actually cottoned on to it without a fuss." Oh, yes. She was THAT adamant about it, Nathania. Amity had her hands plenty full trying to wrangle the stubborn human. Short of locking her in the cellar, there was absolutely nothing in this world Amity could do save for magic to stop Mavis from doing what Mavis wanted to do. And, the Lost was weak to her, wasn't she? "Thea just bullheaded her way into things, but she meant well." Mavis begrudges, "I guess." She then frowns at Nathania, wondering what she looked like under that Mask, but not asking. Instead, she simply says, "I'll be fine. Promise. Part of.. why.. I haven't wanted to go through with being ensorcelled is I don't want to see? It feels like.. maybe I shouldn't, maybe you guys don't always want me to. It seems -private- and very personal." After a pause, she swallows in an expressionless voice adds, "Widget showed me what they did to her."




"It is private. Sort of." Nathania sighs and runs a hand through her hair, biting her lip. "I don't... really know... how to explain it." Then Mavis says that Widget dropped her Mask and her eyes go wide. "I am going.. to offer you... a hug," Nat says gently. "You do not... have to accept it."


<br>{{Tab}}Mavis frowns, still wanting to ask Nathania but sensing that she shouldn't. "It's just.." She laughs, a little sadly but no less affectionate and reaches over to curl one arm around Nathania's shoulder, the other around her back for an embrace. Their chairs are caddy-corner at the same end of the table, but the seats had been left close because she and Amity often sat like this. Mavis sets her chin on Nat's shoulder, finding it easier to finish what she was saying when she wasn't being looked at. 
<br>{{Tab}}"It's just that I know how Amity feels when she sees herself and I hate that I can't.. can't seem to get it through her pretty, little skull that she's gorgeous, both with and without the Mask." She squeezes, not done talking and not willing to let Nathania go until she was. "But, then, that other part of her that I don't get to see as often is.. is what her Keeper did and I dunno how to tell her that I like that too." 
<br>{{Tab}}There. She loosens her arms to lean back into her seat.



Nathania wraps her arms around Mavis. "I... dont' know if you'll... ever be able to help... her with that," Nat says, holding the mortal as long as she wants to be held, letting go immediately after she does. "It's hard... to let trauma go. Especially... deep trauma like what Lost have."

"Are you curious... what I look like?"


<br>{{Tab}}Mavis settles back with a sheepish glance at the kitchen stove. It was old. Most of the major appliances in the house were from the 70s and had come with it. They'd come with the manse and, miraculously, all still worked. 
<br>{{Tab}}"Some, maybe," confesses Mavis. "I might be able to help her -some-, but it's kind of like trying to squish a spider on the other side of glass window for all the good it does." Her gaze creeps back to Nathania when she brings up what Mavis had been dancing around outright asking and her face slow turns back to her. "Well, yes. Of course. It's.. It's really hard not to wonder," she admits with a shy lip-bite. She has a gap between her incisors of about a millimeter and pretty, white teeth. "I try not to PRY about it 'cos, I guess, it's weird. Thea doesn't think it's normal, but WHAT is normal about any of this? Amity showed me. She- she had to, because I didn't believe her. Then, November." 
<br>{{Tab}}Mavis had not an inkling why her boss, the Waylady herself, had decided reveal her true form, but, nonetheless, Mavis sounds rather well-possessed about it all. Not terribly shaken. Resilient. Or, it could be plain, dumb luck that has left her so mental state intact.



Taking a breath, Nat considers Mavis before shredding her Mask to reveal her dolly nature. She's shy about it, but doesn't hide herself.


====-> >> Mavis to Here << <-=================================================
 Rolled 2 Successes 
 < 2 2 3 9 10 >
==========================================-> >> Composure No Flags << <-====



<br>{{Tab}}Mavis isn't expecting Nathania to just... drop it. The Mask melts away and there is a doll sitting at her kitchen table. Her expression goes shock-still, but then her eyes widen and Mavis' lips part to suck in a quick, startled breath that she then holds. Her gaze flurries over Nathania, taking in the features that have replaced the projection of her Mask. 
<br>{{Tab}}Patchwork bits of fabric, lots of them, all well-cared and stitched together are what makes up the woman's skin. Widget's mien had almost prepared her for this and the pity that swells up in her heart makes her chest feel too tight to contain it. The thuds of her heartbeat begin to ache, as if it might break, but hardly none of that reaches her face. Her expression does soften, though, and Mavis does not look away. She keeps looking, eyes coming to rest on Nathania's odd joints, feathery tresses, stitched lips, and, finally, her gray, button eyes. 
<br>{{Tab}}"Oh," she goes. What could she say?
<br>{{Tab}}


"It's... weird, huh," Nattie says with a gentle shrug, biting her lip, worrying at a loose stitch there. She's waiting.


<br>{{Tab}}Finally, Mavis does look away and down into her coffee. She reaches across the table to open the lid of the donut box, choose a sprinkly one, then takes a large bite out of it. The mortal chews, gulping it down, then sipping her coffee again. Stalling. 
<br>{{Tab}}"Just-- y'know-- the fashion designer stuff makes more sense," she murmurs, not knowing what else to say. She skirts a glance over at Nathania then bites her own lip in worry. "I'm sorry. Look. I feel bad, okay? About whatever you had to go through, I can't even imagine," she earnests, ashamed of this for some reason and a hard lump forms in her throat. Honesty seemed the best policy, if it were her that's what she'd want in exchange for baring HER soul. "But, it's really not -about- me and I don't want to make it -about- me. Can.. I just hug you?"



Nathania smiles gently, wryly. "That's the best.. reaction I've ever... gotten, honestly." Her voice soft, her eyes trained on Mavis's. "Yes, I could... really use a hug. Thank... you."


<br>{{Tab}}Somehow, that just makes her feel worse. Mavis gives a laugh that's both startled and weepy then lunges to throw her arms around Nathania. It's a bit of a clumsy, rough bearhug and there's a wet, sniffly sound close to the doll's ear. Mavis turns her face against her shoulder, rubbing it. Certainly no tears would blot Nathania's fabric-skin. 
<br>{{Tab}}"Ha," she barks softly. "You're sweet. And, I think you should come over more. Amity would like that too. Oh!" She leans back, smiling. Her eyes are a little misty, crystals scattered across her lower lashes. "You don't have any glamour. Uhm-? Did you, uh." She gives a fake, shy cough. Mavis' cheeks color for SOME reason. "Y'know, want to?" 



Hugging back until Mavis tears away, Nat blinks. "Um. Are you sure?"


<br>{{Tab}}"Yeah." Mavis shrugs her shoulders noncommitally. Her voice has a bit of forced casualness in it as she chirps, "Why not? You're just going to scoop some up when you go out and shouldn't you have some anyway? What if you need it?"



Frowning, Nat stares at Mavis. "Are you positive?" she asks again, hearing the forced casualness. Even her Elemental ears can pick up on *that* level of forcedness.


<br>{{Tab}}Mavis shoots her one of her stubborn, slitted-eye glares for doubting her. "Yes," she huffs. "I wouldn't have offered and I figured you're too polite to ask. It's the least I can do, really." To her, it was. Nathania had flung away all of her glamour to cast away her mask. "Is there, uhm, like any preference? I know Thea likes it when I'm angry," she mutters, rolling her eyes at the thought of the Summer. Mavis then cheekily sticks out her tongue before adding, "Amity likes it when we're having sex. Widget said something about being an annoyance, which.. makes sense."



Grinning faintly, Nat nods. "I like... sadness. Which is why... I wanted to... make sure." Her expression is careful. "But I hate... making people sad. I can wallow... in it for years, but..."


<br>{{Tab}}Winter. Sadness. Right. Mavis could have assumed that much if she really thought about it, but the funny thing is... She doesn't have to TRY To feel sad again. As soon as Nathania says that, something unhinges. The door she'd closed when they'd hugged that second time on all of her pity and loathesome shame for never being able to understand what could only try to fathom. She looks down at her lap, hands sliding into it to link together. 
<br>{{Tab}}"Oh," she murmurs. "That's okay, too. I mean, at least this way someone gets something out of it, right?" It stung, though. Her heart was pumping blood with those dull, achy thuds and it was hurting her again. That lump in her throat grew tighter. Letting that misery in was easy. She had been, what she believed to be, selflessly reinforcing that dam for months now. In a way, it's a relief to let that sorrow finally wash over her. 
<br>{{Tab}}"Okay, I'm-- uh-- ready or whatever," she croaks, lifting a hand from her lap to wipe at a cheek that leaves the back of her wrist shiny and wet. 



====-> >> Nathania to Here << <-==============================================
 Rolled 3 Successes 
 < 1 3 5 7 7 8 9 10 >
======================-> >> Wits + Empathy.Reading_People No Flags << <-====



GAME: Nathania regain 3 Glamour with reason: Harvesting from Mavis


GAME: Nathania regain 3 Glamour with reason: Harvesting from Mavis (again cuz Sorrow, sry)


Nattie harvests the glamour as quickly as she can, before wrapping her arms around Mavis (assuming consent! If not she'll stop). She then sighs. "You have... a lot to work through. I'm here."


<br>{{Tab}}Mavis is fine receiving hugs! Widget practically treated her like a jungle gym when they were spotted together. She squeezes the Lost back and grunts out a throaty, "Guh." Then sucks an inhale through her sinuses, which results in an unpleasant, squishy noise. SNORF. 
<br>{{Tab}}"I'm fine," she assures her, laughing about it. "I dunno that it could be good for you to wallow for YEARS, though, Nat. I'm here, too, yanno."



"I am... not going to wallow for years," Nat promises, kissing a damp mortal cheek. Huh, when did her Mask return? Anyway. Nat smiles. "Briar and Widget... and now you... won't let me."


<br>{{Tab}}Mavis giggles sheepishly at the brush of lips, then slips away to hunch in her seat. She wasn't used to crying. It made her uncomfortable and the mortal lifts both of her hands to her face. Masks were... important to mortals too. She wipes her cheeks, her eyes, and sniffs again. Her donut is on the table, plateless, and Mavis picks it back up again to dunk into her cold coffee. 
<br>{{Tab}}"Nope," she chirps, falsely cheerful but still somehow sincere. "Not gonna let'cha. Amity, too." Although, she was barely keeping herself from treading water right now. Some of that was Mavis' blame to accept. "So, tell me. What's this Briar guy like? What do you like about him? Other than, y'know." She grins knowingly. "Fitness."



Sticking her tongue out, Nat then gets a little dreamy-eyed. "I met... Briar while... walking in the woods, trying... to find myself. Turns out... he's also part of the Blackbird Bishops, the same... Entitlement--uh, kind of like... a Changeling job, but only... sort of--that I am. I shouldn't have... fucked him, but yanno." She shrugs, eyes bright. "He's my Sir, and my love, and my partner in... keeping the Freehold as sane as we can."


<br>{{Tab}}Mavis taps her donut on the side of her coffee mug then takes a bite out of the soggy dough. Sprinkles now float along the top of her coffee, along with some crumbs. Ew. But, she drinks it anyway, finishing her donut in two quick bites while chewing and looking raptly at Nathania. They were in gossip territory now. And, Nathania's Mask had returned, probably due to the Glamour she'd sipped. 
<br>{{Tab}}She prompts, "Shouldn't have?" Then, "Ooohh. Like, an office romance. Gotcha-- gotcha." Mavis smirks and fails to hide it behind a sip of her coffee then her eyebrows raise behind the mug. She lowers it. "Sir, huh?" SNRK. "What do the Blackbirds do?"



Rolling her eyes at Mavis, but affectionately, Nat says, "We can... take on... mental health problems briefly. And help you see what's wrong, and fix it. Literally... make you saner, if you let us. But only... if you're Changeling, I think."


<br>{{Tab}}She listens to Nathania, tilting her head and a more serious expression replaces her delighted glee that had been sparked at their girltalk. "Wait-- so," she carefully goes, "like a psychic therapist or something?" Pause. Then, warily. "Do you think Amity would accept it?"



Nathania nods softly. "I don't know. People... don't trust us, generally." She chews her lower lip a minute. "But I'm happy to help... anyone. It only... costs a favor."


<br>{{Tab}}She squints, skeptically, then wants to know, "What kind of favor?"



Nathania nods. "Good question. A serious favor. Some people... repay by joining... the Bishopric. Others... do good around town. It's all depending on... who the Blackbird asked is." Nat looks at Mavis. "I would never ask... Amity to do.. anything awful." Therein lies the rub. Nat is High Wyrd. "awful" is very different to her.


<br>{{Tab}}It wasn't so much a matter of trust. Mavis trusts Nathania, be it for better or worse. The question is more out of practicality than anything else and the mortal, being of stubborner ilk, is apt to examine any transaction with a keen eye. 
<br>{{Tab}}"Yeah, I guess nothing's for free. That.. doesn't sound too bad," she admits, shrugging her shoulders with a sheepish ignorance. She supposed Fae had their reasons for mistrusting the Blackbirds, but Mavis made her own opinions. "At least you're asking that they do something good in return. A regular counselor might advise their patients to.. to contribute in some meaningful, fulfilling way, helping others. It's good, isn't it?"



Nathania smiles. Oh, you sweet, summer child, she thinks, and it's the briefest flicker in her eyes, but she blinks as she realizes it's coming on. It may or may not be caught.

"I mean, I hope. I do... the best I can."


<br>{{Tab}}Mavis doesn't catch that look. She's not looking for it. There isn't a shred of suspicion in her held towards Nathania. Not right now, anyway, not unless she really had a reason to re-examine her evaluation of the Changeling. That's the sort of struggle Amity was dealing with in Mavis, once she made up her mind it was nigh impossible to change it without drastic measures. 
<br>{{Tab}}"That's all anyone can be expected to do," she comments, shrugging again. Hell, she was doing her best to handle all of this. Pausing, Mavis thinks for a moment, then asks, "Could I put down a favor for Amity? Like, myself. So she can go without any clauses, at least the first time. I dunno how it works, really... and I'm human. She might be more inclined to -actually- go. Plus, I'd like to, y'know, as a favor to her, too."



Tilting her head, Nat considers. "I'll have... to think about that."
}}