- IC Time: Thu Mar 23 13:18:17 2017 ***
- OOC Time: Thu Mar 23 13:18:17 2017 ***
It's late afternoon, and John Preston is sitting at a picnic table off the beaten path. It's a tad chilly at about 30 degrees--sort of odd, but then again, he's a Winter courtier and doesn't really feel about cold the same way others do. Besides, he's wearing his padded coat and gloves, as well as a large thermos.
Even though it's officially spring and it's still rather cold, Max is out and about this afternoon. She was enjoying the weather while continuing her exploration of the town and it's surrounding areas. She was wearing her usual casual clothing, jacket, hoodie, leggings, and sneakers, shoes chosen in event that she felt the sudden urge to start freerunning. While she was wandering along, she spots a familiar face and grins. A gloved hand lifts from her pocket as she starts to head his way. "Heya John. Out people watching?" she asks as she approaches, a friendly grin resting on her lips.
John looks up as Max comes by, and nods pleasantly to her. "A bit, yes. But I'm glad you're here; I wanted to speak with you." He removes a second cup from his thermos, and pours you one, offering: "Hot chocolate?"
At the invitation, Max closes the distance between the table and takes a seat across from him. "Sure! Who turns down free hot chocolate?" she asks with a playful smirk. Taking the offered cup, and making sure not to accidentally touch him during the exchange, the mortal enjoys a few sips. "Thanks," she says as she sets the cup down, though her hands remain wrapped around the cup to help keep them warm. "What'd you want to talk about?" she wonders, her brows raising curiously at him.
"You. Specifically, you are ensorcelled; you can see the Fae realm. Most of the time, that comes from a pledged oath with a Fae. Who are you tied to, why, and what is the nature of the pledge?"
It is within the realm of possibility that John might, one day, do small talk as a method of social foreplay. Today is not that day.
Max doesn't seem to mind getting right down to business, though she takes another quick sip of her hot chocolate. Then she lightly shakes her head at him. "I'm not tied to anyone," she answers him honestly, looking across the table to meet his gaze while she speaks. "Not at the moment, at least. Byron is talking to some people to get permission or something to make a pledge with me," she explains. There's a small pause before she adds, "I'm unsure why I'm able to see you guys but I can assure you that it didn't come from one of these promises."
John silently studies you for a long moment. He gestures to the gloves you wear, and asks: "Why do you not touch people?
There's a long silence after Max is asked the question, a bit of a frown touching her lips. "I'm not quite sure how to explain it," she replies first. "When someone touches me, bad stuff happens to them. And they get it in their head somehow that it's all my fault," she tells him, glancing over at the Changeling, with furrowed brows. "Some even go crazy enough about it that they come after me. So, it's better to just not touch people."
John nods. "You may come to find that this leads people to believe that you have a pledge with a Fae to gain benefits. This is because pledges can often come with clauses that cause such effects. It is also plausible that you have been cursed." He sips the hot chocolate; it is very rich and high-quality, probably Godiva or somesuch like that. "Tell me more about this Byron. Who is he, what has he promised you, and why would you like to bind yourself to him?"
"It's a life long curse then," Max mumbles in response to his comment. The young woman doesn't mind so much talking about herself, to a point at least. However, when John starts to ask more questions about Byron, Max raises her brow at him. "Why do you want to know about Byron?" she asks in return, sitting up a bit straighter in her seat as she watches him. Though she wears a curious expression, there's a hint of wariness in her bright blue eyes as well.
"Several reasons," he replies, and ticks them off on his fingers: "First, I do not know him, and I am getting to know you, and have developed a fondness for you. Thus, I am concerned about your being somehow decieved or manipulated by him. Second, because I know he is a Lost, and tied to this Freehold and the fact that I will have to deal with the Freehold at some point means that knowing more about a member is useful to me. Third, sheer curiosity."
In spite of the seriousness of the conversation, Max can't help but look mildly amused as John actually counts the reasons with his fingers. The light expression doesn't linger though as she starts to speak again. There's a realization of something in his words. "You're not part of this Freehold thing?" she further questions him, furrowing her brows at the Lost sitting across from her. "How do I know you're not one of those... loyal people that Byron warned me about?"
John frowns slightly. You get the sense he would be angry, except that you don't know him well enough to know the nature of that question and what it means to him. He replies calmly: "I will share a secret with you. I hunt those sort of people, and kill them. It is part of my purpose. I bring retribution, justice, and vengeance to betrayers in proportion to the nature of their betrayal. The Loyalists are amongst the worst betrayers amongst the living."
-> >> Max to Here << <-===============================================
Rolled 7 Successes for an exceptional success.
< 1 2 5 6 7 8 8 8 9 9 10 10 >
==================================-> >> Wits + Empathy 9-Again << <-
Max studies John for a few long moments after he answers her, a slight frown tugging on the edges of her lips. Those bright blue eyes of hers glance downward, looking at the cup her hands are still wrapped around with a thoughtful expression. "You'll have to talk to Byron if you want to know more about him. I feel... uncomfortable telling you anything more than what anyone else would easily be able to find out about him," she says first. There's another pause before she turns her gaze up at him again. "I don't know what the details of the promise will be, but it will be to ensure that everyone remains safe. And I'm willing to bind myself to him because I trust him enough for that."
John muses for a moment, and then replies, "That seems fair enough. I will be joining this Freehold. I came here for several reasons, amongst them the rumors that this town is more integrated with, and understands the nature of, dealings with the Lost more than most other communities. It struck me as a better way to remain in touch with my mortal side." He sips the hot chocolate, looks at it happily, licking his lips, and then ventures, "It's good, isn't it?"
"It is," Max agrees with a gentle smile as she looks back over toward him. Her cup is finished off with a few slow sips, then she sets it back down on the table once she's finished with it. Peering over at him, she tilts her head a bit to the side as she studies John over curiously. "Do you have issues with keeping in touch with your mortal side?" she wonders with a raise of her brow. "I mean, if I wasn't able to see what you are, I wouldn't have thought there was anything strange about you," she tells him.
John lets out a laugh and a genuine smile for a moment, as you've caught him unguarded. He comments, "All Changelings suffer from the constant concern of losing touch with their mortal sides. You see a snippet of our reality, but the fact of the matter is that every Lost you meet has been kidnapped or abducted at one point in their lives and forced to spend a period of time serving a truly unearthly master, being forced to do despicable things. This period is referred to by us as the Durance. We do not often talk about it, nor do we answer questions about it very often." He looks off at some trees and says, "I was taken into the hedge around the year 2002. I was in Durance for roughly ten years. I have seen and done things most mortals would either cringe at or not have the ability to comprehend. We must constantly remind ourselves of our mortal lives; attempt to engage, remember what it is like to be truly alive. There is no Changeling you will meet that has not gone through something similar."
"It's hard for you guys to remember what happened over there, right?" Max questions, bringing up some of the knowledge she's gained from others so far. Taking a quick glance around, it's a few moments before she turns her attention back to him. She's starting to feel a bit restless just sitting there in the middle of the park. Eventually she looks back to John, smiling a bit more as their dialog turns more into a conversation than an interrogation. "Everybody's done bad stuff. I'm certainly no saint myself," she tells him with a small shake of her head. "But, I like to judge people on their merits and who they are in the now. Sure, the past helps shape who they are today but it doesn't mean they're still that same person, you know?" There's a quick pause before she asks, "Want to walk while we chat?"
"It depends on the Changeling, really. I have trouble remembering some things, and others are entirely too clear." He rises, taking out a kerchief from a pocket, taking the cups over to a nearby water fountain, rinsing them out and putting the thermos back together. "Sure, let's walk."
With a smile, Max rises to her feet. After stretching her arms out in front of her, she slides her hands into her pockets. She waits for John to be ready before she continues wandering along the path she had been on before stopping to chat with him. "So you've been free of that place for about five years now?" she asks after a few moments, watching the Changeling curiously. The young woman tilts her head lightly as she studies him, interested. "I'm guessing it doesn't get easier to stay in touch with your humanity over time then?"
"It does and it doesn't. I never was a teacher before I went in, and was something of a loner," he comments, as he strolls alongside you. "But now that I am out, and I've been teaching folks to shoot and the like, it gives me a reason to talk to people more, to interact with them. Mostly, though, I'm the sort of person who, as I said, enjoys watching folk from the shadows, seeing how they interact, studying them."
"Watching people can be interesting sometimes. And when it starts to get dull, you can just go up to them and make things fun again," Max points out with a chuckle. "How's your business coming along anyways? Have you found a location to set up shop at yet?" she questions him curiously. After letting her gaze linger on him for a moment, she starts to glance around again, seeming to be looking for something.
"Not yet. I'm still doing the research on the area, where the best place to open would be, and the like. It's a lot of paperwork and finding the right location." He pauses and asks, "What're you looking for?"
-> >> Max to Here << <-===============================================
Rolled 2 Successes
< 1 1 3 5 6 6 9 9 >
==========================-> >> Dexterity + Athletics No Flags << <-
At the question, Max glances over toward John with a smile. "Something I can do this off of," she answers before she sprint away from him. There were some nearby tables up ahead that she made her way to. With a fluid motion, she steps up the bench of one, then onto the table, where she does a seemingly simple flip from. The mortal does enjoy being athletic. She may have been on the shorter side but her limbs, especially her legs, were still pretty long. Once she's back on her feet, she chuckles and wanders back over to John. "I can't shoot a gun but I can have like that!"
John looks at Max appreciatively. "Well, now, that betrays an elegance I cannot match, as well as an amazing athleticism. I approve." He then pauses and says, "You can't touch people. Just how far does that...effect...extend?"
When John first compliments her, Max does a playful bow which is quickly followed up by a light laugh as she follows him along. However, the question causes her to blink a few times before she raises a brow at him. "What do you mean?" she questions him, obviously curious about where the line of questioning was going.
John pauses for a moment, as if attempting to recall forgotten etiquette, and then says: "Can you kiss? Can you caress? Can you make love? Or are all of those who touch your flesh doomed?"
Max can't help but blush as she listens to John. Eventually, she shakes her head lightly as she answers him. "If I concentrate really hard, sometimes I can control it. Sometimes. But it doesn't always work and it's better to be safe than sorry, you know?" she explains, letting out a slow sigh. A hand reaches up to brush an unruly strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear.
"That strikes me as very unfortunate. Especially since emotional connections expressed physically are at least in part enjoyable because of the lack of concentration associated with them. Perhaps there is something that can be done to cure you of this affliction, although I am not an expert on such things." He continues to walk alongside her, and adds, "I would be willing to enter into a Pact with you for your protection and my benefit. Byron -did- explain the nature of glamour and mortals to you?"
"Well, I haven't even gotten that close to anyone in a long time to even consider... anything," Max replies with a small shake of her head. Real friends and relationships don't come easy to the young woman, even if she's friendly to most people she meets. Her hands find their way back into her pockets, her brows furrowing some. "I think Byron was going to wait until he got approval before telling me anything more than he already has. Understandable, since I could still potentially be a threat until then," she says, glancing back over to John. Then there's a smirk that tugs at the edge of her lips. "I don't think I need to be cured. I mean, it can be handy sometimes. Like if someone is trying to beat me up or something."
John nods. "Most Changelings are quite paranoid about mortals, and will not tell them terribly much. I can understand Byron's reluctance but inasmuch as I am not of this Freehold yet, and as I am scrupulously concerned with the fairness of oaths sworn, I do not have that reluctance." He walks near the pond with Max, and then continues. "A Pledge sworn by a Changeling with a mortal grants the mortal benefits in return for a currency that the mortal is usually unaware that they possess, which is called glamour. The reason I asked you about a pledge to another is that one of the more common pledges sworn with mortals exchanges the ability to see the fae world--what we call ensorcellment--for your glamour; the...essence of emotion, I suppose it would be best described as. When you are angry, you feel anger; but to certain Lost, that anger is like caffeine. This is the case with many different emotions, and many different kinds of fae. While we can get glamour from folks without a pledge or an oath, a pledge usually entails the idea that you would be donating that energy to a specific Lost in return for whatever that Lost is giving you."
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