(2015 SVD) Rick & L'aire

[Lesingnon]

"Hmm, can't say I've ever been to a masquerade party thrown by Changelings." It was something, he imagined, that would require more than one mask. After all, even if his face was covered the misted feathers that he sported would be a dead giveaway to anyone even passingly familiar with him. If the physical masks were backed up by those of fae magic, though...then recognizing everybody would become much more difficult.

His gaze flickered briefly, reflexively, to each person she waved at. And again as she glanced down the bar. "Though I can certainly see your point." Especially with that cult full of Fairweather fanatics lurking in the hedge.

Though he's still not entirely sure why L'aire brought masquerades up. "Has the Winter Court hosted masquerades in the past?" And by past, of course, he was referring to the two winters he'd spent away from the Freheold.

[Lesingnon]

Rick waves away the apology...or starts to, and stops just in time to avoid spilling the flute of champagne held in that hand. There's a moment's pause as he ponders the difficulty of that particular gesture with a beverage in both hands. Then he shrugs it away instead. Along with a smile that's only a little bittersweet. "Nah, don't worry about it. I figured it must've been sometime during that period. And, I mean, it's not like I'd been hoping the place had come screeching to a halt while I was gone. This Freehold simply endures, it's one of the great things about it."

That bit of awkwardness after her next wave, this one to someone he doesn't even know, is evident even to him. And perhaps a little bit of inquisitiveness shows on his features...but he lets it pass. Opting instead to focus on what she'd said. "No, don't take that as a lesson. I mean, don't get me wrong. Fear has it's uses, it's values, you should never ignore it. But you can't worry too much, you can't get paranoid. More than one Autumn Courtier has met their downfall because they let fear control them." His former King, HAL, sprang foremost to mind. And he was hardly the only such cautionary tale. "It's a fine line to walk. But nothing bad happened because of that first masquerade, from what I know. They're not inherently too dangerous to hold."

"And the day will come when it'll be safe to have one again."

[Lesingnon]

He finds himself nodding in agreement with her observations of fear, balance. "It's like that for all the court emotions, really, it's part of the point. They're all beneficial, when you're careful. But they're each a double-edged sword, every one can consume you if you're not careful. And that never ends well."

And then there was her question.

"Horace Albert Liebowitz." The name of the first Autumn Sovereign he'd known in Sacramento, his predecessor, certainly brought some memories rushing back. Memories of his early days of the Freehold, of a more desperate time, and of wearing the crown himself.

"It was back when the Freehold had even more troubles to deal with than we do now. Fairweather was active in the area, and even if we didn't know how great of a threat he posed we did suspect it. The local Hedge was...rebelling, against the actions of a Bridge Burner. You never knew when it might lash out. Not to mention a powerful and twisted Fetch stalking the Hedge." Those had indeed been troubled days. But Tickle had been brought in, Milford had been put down...they'd overcome them in the end.

"For reasons that were never entirely clear HAL grew increasingly worried that there'd be some manner of attack directed specifically at Katrin. He eventually got so paranoid about it that he secretly, and forcefully, used the Contracts of Hours to send her forward in time several months; figuring that it would place her beyond the reach of those who would do her harm. That he did it shortly before Winter's ascension made it even more of a mess, to say the least." No one who'd been present at the coronation would ever forget the clusterfuck that had degenerated into.

"It came to light eventually, of course, and Katrin banished him from the Freehold."

[Lesingnon]

"Fairweather first surfaced around here five years ago, when he bought the Empty Orchestra from the then-King of Spring." Not for the first time, and probably not for the last, he wondered if Fairweather had known how much trouble that sale would end up causing. And how Crunk could possibly have thought it was a good idea. He doubted he'd ever have an answer to either.

"Tickle was actually a resident of Sacramento before I ever was, but he went missing shortly before my arrival. You're familiar with what happened after that though, apparently." Which he actually hadn't been expecting. There weren't many left from the time when Tickle had been a threat. But apparently at least one of them had decided to ensure that it hadn't been forgotten. Not necessarily a bad thing.

Her musings on HAL elicit another shrug from him. Because there...he just really had no idea. "I can't really say what drove him, at the end. No one knew." Not even Mr. Bates, who'd spent as much time with HAL as anyone. "He never really seemed like he was much for romance, but you never know."

"It is possible that you're too worried. Though I can't really say whether or not it's the case. The balance is...healthy caution, I'd say. If someone's consistently too reckless and getting themselves in over their head they're too not paying enough attention to their fear. If it gets to the point where you're continuously not doing things because you're scared, then it's too much. Either way it's probably always worth considering, at least. Balance is a thing that needs to be maintained."

[Lesingnon]

"It's certain that he was around longer than that. He made a name for himself as a business mogul before he ever came to Sacramento." The Dragon of the Free Market, he'd been called. Not that Rick ever really felt like giving him and his ilk the satisfaction of using their titles when he could avoid it.

"But finding that balance...it's about knowing yourself, really. Facing your fears, and knowing that you can do that can prevent you from being controlled by them. Knowing your limits, what you can and can't do, will help keep you from getting in over your head. It's not foolproof," man, did he know that it wasn't foolproof, "but it goes a long way."

"And honestly, just recognizing that there is a balance that needs to be struck goes a long way towards helping you find it." He'd seen what had happened when someone didn't realize that, after all. Rust Mane, an command for two courtiers to fight to the death, the backlash, a former sovereign that never recovered from his fall...