Here Goes Nothing (Open)

[InvertedMonkey]

One here due to overcrowding. One here seeking a larger community. Sacramento right in the middle. Interesting dichotomy. "Welcome to town. The Summer Court has need of you," she tells them both, eyeing them critically. Will these two just be more dust grunts and mule squires? Will they beat-feet out of town when they learn of the Freehold's numerous enemies? Or will they rise to the occasion, and follow the call of duty and vengeance? Only time will tell. Alex hasn't taken a shot her yet at least, that's a good sign. Her eyes flick to the gravewright as he makes his way up to join them. "Hey Daniel," she greets, with detectable warmth that the newcomers didn't get. "Nah, this is fine. Just meeting our newcomers here. Did you need something, or are you just stopping by for the hell of it?" She's got some newcomer-words-of-wisdom to lay down for Alex and Charles, but if Daniel came here on business, it might be best to address that first.

[Mhairi Ankaa]

Could I/Mhairi join/walk in? She needs to talk to Ramona about weapon-y things. If not, we could figure out something else.

[InvertedMonkey]

I have no objection, but I'd like to keep the flow of conversation pretty natural if we can.

[Daniel Leto]

"Yeah, I've been thinking since Christmas," plus done some internet research "You mentioned doing SCA war games at your last club. I was wondering if you did any of that here and if you might be okay with me training with you guys occasionally. I mean, I got this knife from Marcus a while back but still have zero experience with using it and combat's kind of your thing. I figured I'd ask before putting something up on the bulletin asking for help. Plus, getting away from the computer more often might help with not catching on fire as much," he said a slight chuckle. The obvious reference being the bonfire. Less obviously, the threat of Fairwaether still lurked. If hiding failed and he was ever cornered by a dragon, he wanted to be able to fight back.

"Though I'd understand if you'd rather not have Winter around, killing your style," he added. He'd never heard of a super secret Summer fighting style but who knew. It was a bit strange to be asking in the first place. Summer was for war though, who better to train with weapons and body.

[Swami M]

Alex tries to hide a frown as he listens to Goldwater's wisecracking and swagger... Is that guy just being an idiot, or is this really what's expected here? That might have been the proper play in Redding. At least until the guy went one joke too far and had to spend the rest of the conversation hunting under the sofa for his missing teeth...
But this isn't Redding. He hopes. If this is just going to be more of the same, he's got a couple of problems. First, he's come all this way for... not very much. And Alex trying to play the cocky alpha male would work about as well as a snake riding a bicycle.

For the moment he decides to stay quiet and listen. He's interested to hear more about how this club organizes and trains its members...

[InvertedMonkey]

"I haven't been involved in the SCA since... I moved." Ramona admits, drawing her thoughts from the past, that Pyrrhic victory that took so much from her, back to the present. It shows on her face, a dark and distant look, fading into warmth when she refocuses on Daniel. A small smile, more a crooking upwards of one corner of her lips. "If it's training you're after though, I'd be happy to have you join us. I'm not the best teacher, but I'll do what I can." It's a good sign, on many levels. People in this Freehold need to take their security more seriously. Daniel's request is encouraging. She turns back to the newcomers, "Sacramento isn't a large Freehold. There's not a lot of Court rivalry here," Personal opinions aside, "We need each other too much. A lot happens around here at the ground-level, and we have an elected council of officers who handle the day-to-day 'Hold management for the Sovereigns." Her eyes flick back to the unsworn one, "Alex, you'll be swearing a seasonal pledge, at minimum, before the Spring Queen." This is not a question, or an invitation. Ramona is telling Alex he'll swear a Freehold Pledge. With an unspoken Or Else. "I'll make sure you have the time and place of the next opportunity. After a season, if you feel like staying on longer, I encourage you to make a year-long pledge before our King this summer."

The warmth of familiarity with which she addressed Daniel is absent again as she speaks to Alex and Charles, eyeing them steadily. "Something you deserve to know up-front about Sacramento; we're not safe here. Anyone who's told you different is either ignorant, or flat-out lying to you." Another statement. Fact. Unyielding and unquestionable. "This Freehold has enemies. The most dangerous is one of the Gentry, Fairweather, who took the form of a dragon to burn down the Freehold's central commons a few years ago. Along with many of the occupants. We haven't heard much from him or his cult of loyalists since, but they're still out there. We find burned Hollows in their wake. There's also a significant and dangerous criminal element, a local goblin market we don't exactly regulate, and the usual wildcards the Hedge likes to throw at Freeholds." She's watching them closely as she lists off these dangers. Who's going to flinch? Who's going to break? "If this seems like too much for you to handle, I don't blame you. I'll buy your bus ticket out of town. But I hope you'll stay. I need Summers who aren't afraid of this fight. Who'll help me protect the Freehold. Against enemies like ours, we're the underdogs. That means that we have to fight harder and smarter than our enemies. See danger before it's coming. Pick our battles." She can't afford to coddle them. The situation is too grave, the threat too immediate. "So... are you up for this?"

[Mhairi Ankaa]

Mhairi debated just calling the ogress, but the last time they saw each other, she hadn't Pledged, and went all quite in the face of the stoic - Hank's - instigat-questions. They were questions.

Mhairi wrung her fingers together, wishing that she could rake her fingers through her hair without leaving trails of burning quicksilver allover everything. She hopped from foot to foot before she gathered her courage and strode into the club.

It was...scary and...and...awesome! Half wishing she came here later, she kinda wanted to see the club in action.

She hesitantly moved toward the bar, asking after the General, which lead her to the out of the way corner the others seemed to pile in. The brisk breeze of her mantle cut against the heat and humidity the three Summers gave off.

The elemental could breathe for a moment. She hadn't really been this close to heat-hot-smoldering- since-since...she blinked and she shook the thoughts-memories away. Her near trademarked awkward crooked smile grew, as she thought that she'd been to the Blue Note, and now here at The Forge, but she hadn't seen Edna's yet. Mist and fog pushed and pulled, Mhairi blinked. Once, twice. Huh. 'Three Summers, one Winter and an Autumn walk into a bar...'

"Ah...Ram-Gen-Ma'am?" she sputters completely baffled on how the muscle-y, muscle-y ogress wanted to be addressed. "Uh...Hi!" she squeaks. With a shy wave, her fell-flame gaze, ignoring the streaking droplets of her quicksilver fingernails as the spatter burned up before hitting anyone or thing. "Mhairi Ankaa...From the dinner...pie?" she said, not really believing she made a lasting impression. "There...ah...was...pie?"

She bit her lip feeling the weight of four distinct, and different gazes, "I-ah-can come back later if...you want...it's okay. I'll just..uh...Hi. Err. Not hi. Well yes hi, but..." she said, already turning away. She felt like an idiot. She should have phoned first.

[Parable]

Concern flashed across Daniel’s features when he saw the darkness creep into Ramona’s expression. He returned her smile with one of his own, touched by regret. He hadn’t meant to bring up bad memories. It just happened.

“Cool,” he says simply when Ramona says he can join in on the Summer training.

He stood back as the Ogress started to go drill sergeant on the new Summers. The Gravewight wondered if he should add anything when she came to enemies. Former Autumn Kings trying jailbreak the Hedge; a fetch arsonist still at large, the fact that Daniel might bring down another Freehold’s Hunt of Leaves to Sacramento. The Winter decided it would be better to stay quiet for now.

He did raise a dark eyebrow at Charles’ comments. “It’s not that we don’t fight. Ramona beat me in a duel just a couple months ago,” he said with a slight smirk toward the Stonebones “We just don’t let petty things like that get in the way of working together.” Even Coco, who seemed to get off on petty, was able to set that stuff aside and skewer things when it came down to it.

The man’s willingness to die was a little odd. Daniel wondered if the Elemental really meant it or if it was just a smoke screen to hide the fear almost everyone had. Daniel wondered if knowing that the Gravewight could bring the Summer soldier back from the dead to continue fighting would change anything.

The approach of the starry woman made Daniel turn. He recognized her as someone Ava had been talking to at the Winter event.

“You’re popular today,” he joked to Ramona before giving a calm friendly smile to Mhairi.

[Swami M]

Alex takes a deep breath... "Is there any place that's really safe for people like us? I could go home to Texas. As if I have a home anymore... And that's where all of my problems started. I thought Austin was safe right up to the moment I was taken into the woods and stabbed to death. Or stabbed to... whatever. Or I could stay where I was for the past year. There I have two people I can trust with my life, a few more people I can kind of mostly trust based on the word of the first two... and a bunch of high school bullies and wannabe gangsters that are about as welcoming and trustworthy as a box full of spiders. Everything I've been told about this city mentions how people work together here. I'm pretty new to this life, but all the stories I've heard about Freeholds that fail aren't about evil masterminds taking over or destroying everything. They're about people turning on each other. If I can find a place where that doesn't happen... that's about as safe as it's going to get."