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Gleaming Onyx, Tarnished Lead

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  1. #1
    L


    Like he had last time, Rick had set things up outside below the treehouse hollow. Of course, it wasn't quite the same. There'd only be two people there this time, and the treehouse wasn't in quite as good of repair as it had been back then.But other than that, fairly similar.

    One staff was leaning against the trunk of the tree. The other was in the Elemental's hands. Rick was dressed lightly, wearing workout gear for ease of movement. Four gourds were suspended around him, hung from the branches around him. Presumably there was a reason for it. But for now he was ignoring them. Instead simply spinning his staff through some warm up exercises as he waited for L'aire to arrive.
    Selena

  2. #2
    S
    Sasha

    The Fairest was oddly excited to meet with Rick. It felt ‘normal’ even though it was the furthest thing from the truth. With her Motley mate, she could do or say as she pleased. There was no need to keep up appearances. There was more that she wanted to speak with him about other than training.

    So, as it was before, L’aire entered the yard after making a stop to change. She wore a practice outfit as she’d done in the past. When she walked up to the practice area, she smiled as the Elemental spun his staff in the air. It reminded her of baton practice from when she was very small. A trial few classes before the Dancer found her niche.

    "Wow, that's some skill, Rick." She grinned with a wink on the corner of her eye.

  3. #3
    L


    "Oh, that's nothing, just a bit of a warm up."

    The staff spun to a stop, chambered under one arm for a second. He took a deep breath as he called forth a bit of glamour, infusing it into the wood as he called upon his contracts. And as invisible thorns sprouted along the length of the staff he burst into motion. One backstep brought him into the middle of the hanging gourds as the staff drove behind him to smash into the first gourd. Then he torqued the staff around as he slid into the pivot, one smooth motion lashing it around to smash the other three gourds. "That's some skill, just got it down no too long ago." He returned the wink, "So naturally I have to show off with it a bit."

    "Anyway, hope you're still doing well? Crown still resting easily on your brow?"

      Dangerous Radius
    Date Action Roll Result
    2016-08-07 21:10:25 Rick Pereg rolls 7 to Str + Weaponry + Spec + 2 - 4 (10 Again) 6, 2, 7, 10, 3, 1, 7, 5 1 success
    2016-08-07 21:09:49 Rick Pereg rolls 8 to forgot to set the dice pool... (10 Again) 1, 5, 8, 4, 7, 2, 4, 8 2 successes
    2016-08-07 21:09:25 Rick Pereg rolls 1 to Dex + Wyrd (10 Again) 1 failure

  4. #4
    S
    Sasha

    Her head titled slightly, a smirk upon her lips. L'aire watched the Elemental spin it again. It was amazing to see how the hedge assisted with his work of the staff. "Wow!" As he smashed the gourds that once hung where they did. "Did those poor gourds do something to you?"

    But Rick's next question wasn't an easy one to answer. "Um. Well, I honestly don't know."

    She picked up the other staff and slightly twirled it back and forth. "Does it rest easy on anyone's brow?"

  5. #5
    L


    "Well, I was never a big fan of squash dishes I suppose. And they make that nice thwocking sound when you smack them. Nothing that doesn't want to be hit should make a sound like that." He spun the staff once more, chambering it back behind one arm as he considered her question.

    "I suppose not, for most who wear it." It had never really rested easily on his, he supposed. Part of the reason he didn't really miss it. "Probably a good thing, I guess. It can certainly be dangerous to get too used to power." Rust, HAL...he'd seen it ruin Sovereigns before; as they got to used to the power, let their court's emotion rule them instead of the other way around. "Come to think of it, falling into that trap was one of my biggest fears when I ruled. Didn't help that I saw my predecessor lose himself down that path."

  6. #6
    S
    Sasha

    Her brow quirked. "Thwocking?" Repeating the inflection of his description.

    But that was neither hear nor there. Apparently getting down to the heart of the matter was going to be first. "I don't think I'd ever... get used to power." L'aire didn't know how else to phrase what he said.

    "I hope that I too don't fall into some sort of trap, but one can never be too sure."

    Pondering what she was going to say next took a little effort. "Well, I suppose it also helps if you don't think of yourself as 'all powerful' or 'high and mighty'. Because I certainly don't."

    If anyone knew her hang ups, Rick was one of them. At least, she thought he may.

  7. #7
    L


    "Yes, thwocking," he tapped one end of the staff against one of the gourd remnants swaying on its rope. The sound wasn't quite the same now that it was no longer whole, though. "You know, onomatopoeia and all that."

    And he supposed she did have a pretty fair point at the end there."True...I suppose I asked the wrong question." It certainly wasn't a mistake he was immune to. "Perhaps I should've asked how you're holding up under that weight. I know it can take some getting used to." Eyeing the staff in her hand, he let his own spin back out into a guard position, "A few tentative steps before settling into the rhythm of it, if you will."

  8. #8
    S
    Sasha

    Giggling, she did enjoy other’s use of words. “Yes, I like onomatopoeia’s. They always amused me when I was younger.”

    But, her younger years were beside the point. Here and now was what mattered. Now was less carefree, more to dwell upon and far more responsibilities. “I guess I’m not certain how I’m holding up. Is it common to want to spend far more time with my Court than I ever have before?”

    “I guess for the longest time, it seemed that the Winter’s in Sacramento may have gotten along, but there was no sense of belonging. I want to give that to our Court, at least.” Watching him pick up the staff, but she too took a guard position eying him in her violets.

    “How was it for you, when you were the Leaden King?” If anyone could speak on experience, he could. Although, she really wished Terri was around as well. There were instances the Fairest could recall that were truly difficult in the past.

  9. #9
    L


    "I'd say it is. Not sure there's anyone who really wants the crown without having a vision for their court, like the sense of belonging you're aiming for. And in order for anyone to shape a court they way they'd like, well, it takes time with the court."

    Her question, though, that had him pondering for a bit. And it, at least briefly, delayed whatever he may have been planning to do with his staff. "It was...different, that's for sure. More expectations, more weight on my shoulders, more pressure. When I was a courtier there was always HAL. He was the most experienced Autumn in the Freehold, the one that gave the court direction, who the courtiers looked to for advice. And then I was, not him. They looked to me instead. And just about everyone started treating me just a bit different than they did before, or would otherwise...not sure how many times I had to tell people they didn't need to bow, or to just call me Rick instead of King Pereg. The ones who did continue to treat me the same; Terri, Marcus, Barkley...I was always grateful to have them around. Gave me that sense of normalcy, reminded me that even if some things had changed there was plenty that still hadn't."

    "And as King the buck stopped with me, too. I talked with HAL about a lot of the directives he gave, he made a lot of decisions based on my advice. But they were his decisions. We followed them...but he was the one left to wonder whether he'd chosen correctly, and all that. But afterwards,"
    he tip of Rick's staff lowered to the dirt, his hands clasping the free end, his voice more distant, "I had to make those decisions, without knowing which ones were the right call and which weren't. Some of them, I might never know if I made the right call. Some might always hunt me."

    "The Ash Run, I called it on Peter Milford...powerful fetch, vile thing, committed all sorts of atrocities on children. He needed to e taken care of. But when he was tracked down, with the full might of the Freehold with me, it turned out he was trapped in a mirror. If we'd let him be until later, he wouldn't have been able to do anything in the meantime."

    "And I chose him as the target over Fairweather. He hadn't done anything like his attack on the Four Seasons, hadn't really even done anything at all in a long while. So I dismissed him as the lesser threat. If I'd gone after him instead of Milford...we might've been able to take him down right there. To this day I wonder if we could've done that, if we could've driven him away before he attacked he Four Seasons, if that catastrophe could've been averted if I'd chosen differently."
    He sighed, finding his head turning to look in the direction where the Four Seasons had once stead. "If I'd chosen differently would the Four Seasons still stand, would all those who fell within it still be here?"

    "I'll never know, but I'll always wonder. And that...that sticks with you."

  10. #10
    S
    Sasha

    L’aire didn’t feel those things, not yet at least. But, some of them, she did.

    “Yeah, I agree with you. I don’t like being addressed as if I’m higher than there rest. Don’t get me wrong, I do like it on special occasions. Not in day to day conversation.” The change, she didn’t feel it yet. Other than the Wyrd encompassing her and filling her more full of Winter than ever before.

    There it was. “Exactly that, how will I know if I am making the right decision when the time comes?” That was what the Dancer was truly concerned with. “I know Terri always second guessed herself. There were a few matters where she made decisions that so many agreed with, yet, she doubted herself long after the time had passed.”

    “Is that why it stuck with Terri?”

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