-1 WP from Brawl roll
This is for adding a Search Category to the thread.
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-1 WP from Brawl roll
He had seemed relatively safe: large, but quiet. Observing, sorting, inspecting. And when the dam finally broke Zoe could do little more than stare up at Green, her mouth slightly open, and remind herself to breathe as the harsh words rained down on her.
A cry of almost physical pain left her as the basket was reduced to broken sticks and torn vines, the wire slicing through the bisected brumebulb and rendering it more useless than it may previously have been. Zoe's hands, already extended in placation, turned palm up in a silent expression of why. The sorrow the Mountain spoke of settled onto her like a layer of dust, deepening the lines around her mouth and the tension in her throat, and though a minor crisis appeared to be taking place inside her, it wasn't the one he hoped: whether by lies or unpleasant truths, she believed with all her battered heart that she knew the situation better than him. She grieved the destruction of the basket, a symbol of all the progress made.
"This is my city too, you don't own it." The words came softly, with obvious exertion. "Who... who the fuck are any of you to tell me what I can or can't do? You come into my home and..." Another small, helpless gesture toward the broken basket. "How do you expect me to stop trying if there's any chance? Even just the smallest, tiniest- I'm not a Loyalist, I can't believe you don't see that. Why don't you understand what I'm trying to do?" Hysteria began to creep into her voice, the situation having gone so far beyond her control for reasons she had no power over.
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Oh. My.
Oh my, yes.
That anger, that rage. Justified. Righteous. Ramona can't help it, her lips quirk upward in a barely-contained smile. What are you doing in the Winter Court, Green? She thinks with amused fondness. Of course, people are always more nuanced than a single emotional spectrum. Still, this is a gorgeous display. Just witnessing it rouses Ramona's anger in kind. A trickle of adrenaline slowly spiking her blood. This is the best thing that's happened all day.
His ruling seems harsh at first. Who wouldn't want to reclaim what They took? How much can they blame her for trying to get her sister back? But that's not what she's being held accountable for. She's being held accountable for homicidal negligence. Without a way to prove that Frances is a Fetch, this is as good as murder. Even if it wasn't, there's no guarantee that the 'weaving' would succeed. Wouldn't summon Zoe's Keeper as Green suggests. In time they might've corrected Zoe's behavior, but Green's made the call; she's too dangerous to have around. She has to go.
"Fair, unfair. Fetch, human. Loyalist, Lost. Whatever," Ramona growls at Zoe. "This is our city, and we don't want you here anymore. Your best bet is to make us a very binding promise with significant penalties, assure us of your good behavior, conclude your affairs, and conduct yourself out of Sacramento on your own terms. Or, we can drive you out." Ramona's face is hard with the promise of violence in that statement.
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Anger didn't impress the Hunterheart. Oh, it gave him quite a start to see the always stoic Mountain turn into a volcano of fiery rage. But he didn't feel it. He couldn't even begin to understand it. His agression was rarely motivated by anything remotely resembling fury, but rather by an aprehension trying to mask itself in different, more respectable garb. He didn't remember feeling like Green seemed to be feeling since before he was taken and... he didn't remember much of that either. Blood on his knuckles, bones giving way, breaking like twigs...
"We are the people who are going to have to deal with whatever crap you've got cooking down here if it goes wrong," unlike the others, his words came across as cold. Indifferent, "Sorry, miss. What's lost is lost. Get yourself a new hobby," he took a quick look at Ramona, "And don't make a scene, please."
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Impotent rage rolled off of Zoe, hands clenching into fists at her sides. "You must all be incredible pillars of virtue, happy to sell me off, too scared to take a chance that could actually help someone. What kind of promise do you want? Lay out your terms, protect your city from a woman with a crushed basket."
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Green's teeth peeked out from his lips as he spoke, stock still and loaded with Elemental fury. His voice sank to a low, dangerous rumble.
"Keep talking. If you wanted any part of what we are, you'd have sought us out. We do leave signs, yeah. And your basket sounds like Their magic to me. Not contracts or tokens or shit. Their magic. You say you know what it'll do. But we don't know you. So how can we know. You could have earned that trust from the start..."
"And you want terms? Fine. Lets start with the Oath to the 'Hold. We all take it. Binds us together. See how you don't fit? Now sure, you can take it. But after this, I might want an extra Pledge - just so we are all clear and comfortable. If your heart is good, yeah, then the Wyrd won't hurt you, will it?"
He took a step closer. One measured step.
"But to do that, we'll need our Sovereign to sanctify it."
Or Sovereign. Green wasn't about to let any hints at the Freehold's structure slip into the hands of the outsider. Not when he rightly suspected the hob might be listening - and who knows where that pesky imp's loyalties lay! And above all else, he didn't let on that one of the Freehold's Sovereign's was standing right by her side.
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Well that's a reversal. Ramona's frown turns on Green, but confused instead of angry. A moment ago he was ordering her to get the fuck out of town, now he's offering her a fealty Pledge? Conditionally offering her, sure. Conditional, no doubt, that she not fuck around with this same magic shit that she's doing here. Still, that's a big swing in position from the anger she saw a moment ago. Bringing it up right now is risky, it would show some division among their party, which Zoe might use to her advantage if she's canny enough. Instead, she turns back on the rogue Changling. "Lifelong oath," she responds to the request for terms, firm and unyielding, "No magic of this kind, no sacrificing others even if you think they're a Fetch, within 100 miles of the Sacramento city limits without the express permission of the Sacramento Freehold's reigning sovereigns. Or be cursed and maimed as the Wyrd sees fit for your offense."
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Zoe's words might have hit home... a year ago. "Yeah," he nodded at Ramona's demands. "And let's add no trying to bring anything over from the other side. Hell, Green here's got a point. There shouldn't even be any talking with anything from there. Not from you anyway, and not while you're here," he took another cigarette out of his pocket and put it between his teeth, but didn't light it. He took a casual look at Zoe's expression, searching for anything that would give away her relationship with the resident hob. "And when she says you can't be sacrificing people in the city, that also includes taking them out of the city to do the deed. Nobody likes a cheat." The Others loved their tricks, and he had seen how that could rub off onto 'lings.
Still radiating myriad intense emotions, Zoe's brow furrowed and she shot a look at Nathan; either for removing a loophole she had hoped to exploit, or suggesting she was a cheat. Or maybe, at this point, just for existing.
"Okay." The word was soft and measured, drawn out. For a moment it seemed as though it was merely meant to signify that she had heard everything and understood it, not actual agreement. Then, something was being weighed inside her mind, much as it had been upstairs when she first saw them. "I won't do any magic of this kind," she agreed slowly. "Or sacrifice people, or fetches, without permission from your sovereigns. But I'm not fighting for your Freehold, I'm not going to promise that; you're taking everything from me, I don't really care about earning your trust." Her scowling gaze landed on Green. "So, if we need one of your sovereigns, how long is that going to take?"
Feel free to make a Wits+Empathy, if you so desire
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"As long as it takes to find one," Green responded simply. He was still watching Zoe as he rummaged around for his phone. It takes him a while to coax a response from the device with the prods and presses of his ungainly fingers.
With an satisfied grunt he pressed the phone to his face.
*Ring Ring*
@Saeyer would you mind if Green contacted Ava, just to expedite this a little quicker? If not he can contact Lynn
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