'Backyard' Camping Prep

[Lesingnon]

"I make sure I'm always ready for that kind of a trip." Largely because he trekked through the hedge more often than a lot of people wandered through the city. And if you were going to spend that kind of time in the Hedge...you had to be sure you were equipped to handle it. For the unprepared, the careless, and the foolish? It was just a death trap.

Or worse.

He returns Coco's wave, and accepts Emily's handshake; seemingly completely unfazed by whatever flirtatious intent lurked in the latter woman's smile. Or, perhaps, just completely oblivious to it. "Well, even someone who doesn't know the pointy end from the hilt can be dangerous to themselves. So I'd assume he meant you can be dangerous to others now...and maybe still to yourself, who knows?"

"But anyway, what brings you to Sacramento?"

[Coco]

The seemingly irrepressible grin transformed into a a brief moue when it became obvious that her joke was going to be lost amidst the refuse of the unmentioned, but there was no point getting caught up on that. Or on Rick's pointed disregard for the complexities of fencing's hazards. If Emily Grimm truly was unsure as to just who she was dangerous to then she was clearly not at the stage where she should be.

Though it was very possible that she was merely being modest. Or coy...

"I'm curious, too," Coco chimed in, "what others hobbies you might have in addition to fencing."

[Lesingnon]

"I don't think many of us start off knowing what either of them mean, least of all our kind."He'd traveled halfway across the country figuring it out, after all. You spent your life figuring out a place in the world, only to be torn away from it and replaced. Then you get back, after going through hell, and have to figure it out all over again. Yeah, small wonder a Changeling wouldn't be sure what either meant.

"It's just something you figure out, at the right time and place. Mayhaps Sacramento will wind up being that place for you."

[Coco]

Well, of the two locations that Grimm said she sang in, Coco certainly knew which she would prefer to witness, though the image of a flailing ball of black fur and claws thrown by a very angry faun with jade colored hair dissuaded her from commenting on that particular preference. Still, the Wasp's impish smile returned.

"I don't know about that, Rick. I feel as though belonging is often something best understood in its absence. Nevertheless, I do agree that it is better to find oneself in the right time and the right place. In that regard, you're doing remarkably well, Miss Grimm," Coco shared, flashing teeth.

"Why this season is just perfect for discovering new friends, new hobbies, and new places to be. Which is fortunate, is it not? A fine turn of events for one such as you. Why, we happen to have a club in town known as the Blue Note that regularly features Jazz and blues acts. It can be a bit chill there, but perhaps that would appeal to a songstress like you."

[Daniel Leto]

Daniel stayed silent for a little while. Offering Emily a comforting smile between questions. He didn’t want her to feel like she was be interrogated. Which she was in a way. Making sure she wasn’t a threat, she why she was here. Could she handle a sword? What else?

However, Daniel tried to reassure her that they meant no harm, even if it was simply by his presence. Insubstantial though it was.

“Blue not would be a good spot to start if you wanted a night out. Then there’s the Forge. Polar opposite from a jazz club though. Lots of angry music.” A little bit more information. A sign of faith. The Winter and Summer strongholds of Sacramento. Useful to an attacker, for sure but they’d be a fool to attack either. He was still reluctant to label to label her an threat just yet, even among the tools of survival.

[Coco]

"Oh, is there something you dislike about Miss Grimm?" Coco replied, her smile shifting sly.

"It suits you quite well, I would say. As for the place to make the pledge of allegiance, it's a bit gauche to do it at the wrong event, wouldn't you say? Why not simply get to know the city in the few months until the next gathering happens and by then you'll know whether you truly wish to stay."

The city wasn't for everyone, after all. Many swept in only to disappear without a trace. Certainly some would expect that to be quite worrisome for the Lost, though one had to accept such events with a grain of salt. Wanderlust and flight were both instincts that pulled strongly on many of them, and not every disappearance was a kidnapping. Even if the Freehold was strangely quiescent of late.

[Daniel Leto]

Pledge of Allegiance. That was one Daniel hadn’t heard before but it was immediately apparent what she meant. Coco, answered the question well enough but it sort of said to wait till Winter to swear, which wasn’t the best idea. Better someone swear seasonally until their court came to power.

“There should be a patriotic event next month at the Forge, if you’d like to sing the anthem you’d just have to ask Ramona. She’s in charge of setting up the party. And if you’d like to take a more long standing promise of service, the Blue Note will always be there later in the year.” Daniel gave a half smile again for the obtuseness of the language. Swear in Summer, then swear to year in Winter was hard to translate discreetly. So long as she understood that, it didn't matter how couched in code words the message was.

“So fencing and singing? Any other skills? I’m an amateur ghost hunter/paranormalist, and dream interpreter.” If the transparent features and deathly paleness didn’t give that away. “I know it may seem weird and scary but it’s a lot cooler than you’d expect.” The Gravewight kith might be more widely known but the actual existence of ghosts was less so, even among Changelings. Even fewer would think a Winter would know more than an Autumn about the subject. However, if Em had any past acquaintances within the area, Daniel was always happy (disturbingly so) to act as a channel to talk with them.

[Lesingnon]

"You can always make the more longstanding promise at The Forge too. Promising at the place that best matches their interest is just a preference for most, not a rule." The last bit is offered with a slight shrug. When he'd returned to the Freehold, after his years away, it had been in the Spring. He'd sworn the yearlong pledge straight off, and renewed it upon expiration ever since. He'd just never seen the point in waiting.

Perhaps he sheer amount of study he'd put into Pledges over the years had stripped away a layer of mystique that other still viewed them with. Or perhaps he just put less importance of the symbolism on swearing it to one's own Sovereign.