(17AE) Coronation Autumnal Equinox

[Ingrid]

Oh God! Yes! Ingrid thought as her rescuer the mole man appeared.

"Why yes, Thomas! I have to say its a lovely spread. And this Hollow is. Just. Superb. But seriously now, you have to tell me. How do you manage with those pesky sprites?"

Ingrid popped a tasty morsel into her mouth and positioned herself to better converse with Thomas. And keep an eye on the sprites who had begun to circle.

Circle like sharks, Ingrid felt.

[Thomas Land]

"Oh, hm, welcome," Thomas greets Quick , giving him a little room to join their company. Beady eyes stealing another glimpse of the Levinquick's unmasked form. Belatedly, he asks a question to cover his probing glance, "And how are you this evening?"

Then he turns his attentions to Ingrid , "Well, thank you. Though it was, largely, Mhairi's doing, I must say. I'm more than happy to accept your, um, compliments on behalf of the Autumn Court however." He says last sentence with a little smile.

"And isn't it?" He says, referring to the Hollow now. "Just marvelous, really. And this building itself has seen so much, hm, history, from what I understand."

The Mole-Man actually chuckles at the question about the sprites, beady eyes cutting to the mischievous hobs before returning to Ingrid. "Hm-hmmmmm. I would say that the first thing is to banish any thoughts of, well, managing them. Bribing them? Certainly. But not manage. They are, hm, willful; they have their own agenda, yes certainly, though it may seem alien to us." He scratches his Mole's chin with a single, clawed digit. "I'd say you learn to, well, anticipate and tolerate their antics. Which, in my case, is an acceptable price for the chance, um, to study them."

[Circe]

It looks like it was private time for the old guard. Or at least Circe assumed the gaggle of three Queens represented the old guard. They certainly looked like they wanted privacy. Not that this made Circe even considered putting in some distance between her and them.

As Ingrid brought up sprites, she listened to the conversation. Bribery huh? She was familiar with bribing hobs though she'd preferred ones that could fight. That she was their only supplier of ammo had helped her negotiate too. "Alien sure, but I think credit card and telephone is all they'd need to get what they seem to want," the Fairest giggled at her joke.

Circe was a little worried at the Mole-man's choice of words for why he put up with the sprites. "I trust, Thomas, that your studies are going to be more Jane Goodall and less mad scientist. Got no love for hobs but these runts ain't pissed me off yet, so I'd be against ya the latter." After a pause she added, "Also kinda against the former, if I recall Miss Goodall acted like the apes and you acting like them," she wave a arm quickly towards a gathering of sprites. This made the flower in her hair bob about, "well the mental image is very strange."

"Sup Quick. Having fun after you came out?" Circe froze, "Wow. Phrasing. Unintentional," was blurted out as she realized what she'd said.

[Quick]

"Good enough. Glad to be here, anyway." Quick can't help but feel like the mole-man is staring. Which is just 'great'. It's completely beyond him why his own oddity would be amusing. It's certainly not better. Might turn heads at some cosplay convention, sure. But Quick wouldn't be caught dead at one of those.

The mention of the place's history gets his gears turning, though. He really hasn't spent much time in Hollows like this. "Know anything about that, Thomas?"

"I'll say..." Quick adds to Circe's quip. The thought of the mole-man flitting about like some sinister trickster? The stuff. Of. Nightmares.

Quick blinks a few times. But he does that often enough. Probably not due to what Circe said. "It's a roller-coaster. Still not happy I had to do it. Just, you know, had to be done." Which is about as deep as he gets. If they had any idea how much he hates the idea of showing his face, they'd be amazed at how much trust he places on them. But, of course, he'd probably never be up front about all of that.

"Really not keen on our little... 'friends' here." he says, eyeing the circling hobs. ​"Hope Thomas bribed them well."

[Circe]

Circe nodded with Quick's comment, "Roller-coaster? That's about right for this Freehold. Especially given some of the paranoia that's been goin' around." Which probably made Quick's exposure a real necessity to alleviate suspicions.

The elf's eyes also followed the chirpy, circling little fae. "True too. Though I'm a little curious at how the fuck someone figured out to bribe them with pizza. I mean, ya, pizza is awesome but there has gotta be a story behind that."

[Ingrid]

"You study them? You can... Study them?" Now Ingrid did look intrigued. Excitedly intrigued. "How do you manage that? They look a little too quick... And, well, spritely. You know?"

The Darkling's head rotated, moving from one Lost to the other as the conversation flowed.

"Pizza? Hell yeah."

[Donovan Ackerman]

Donovan continued the stare at into Quick. The feeling of being under the sun’s gaze intensified slightly. The snow muffling of sound didn’t help. Or was that the roaring of blood drowning out the noise of the conversation.

He wanted to leave but the only other group consisted of the Queen of Winter and he definitely preferred Quick’s mantle to hers, even if both offended him.

The thin Wizened chewed through his plate with intense thoughtfulness.

“Why’d you chose Winter?” he finally blurted not even bothering with trying to fit the question gracefully into the flow of talk around him.

[Thomas Land]

"Sadly, very little," the Mole-Man responds to Quick. "Simply that this building, hm, has been a fixture in the city for quite some time..."

Beady eyes twinkle as the discussion of the Sprites continue, "Oh, they've been well-bribed, I think." He looks to the little hobs and back again, "If they hadn't been, we'd be having, hm, a bit more trouble with them..."

He chuckles, awkwardly, at Ingrid's comments, "Well, I have yet to make a, um, extensive study of their...physiology. If that's what you mean. But things like behavior, social interaction, yes, between themselves and toward outsiders. It's all, hm, very interesting. They are, yes certainly, a kind of pack, I would say...Very complex in their own way..."

But then Donovan asks what Thomas figures to be a very pertinent question and the Mole-Man falls silent, waiting to see what Quick might say...

[Quick]

"Yeah." is all he offers to Circe's assessment, his eyes drawn more to their fluttering 'hosts' than anything else. He doesn't sound entirely sincere. His loyalty to the idea of the Freehold nags at him, telling him she has to be wrong.

Quick frowns, looking disappointed. He'd hoped Thomas could clue him in.

The conversation returns to the sprites again, and the Elemental sighs. How much of their conversation are the little devils picking up on? They probably understand words. Only a matter of time before one of them takes offense to being talked about like they aren't right there. If Thomas can handle them, he's a tougher customer than he looks.

But Donovan cuts right through the small talk and sermons on hob-ology. Quick looks back at the farm boy, not entirely sure how to answer. "I, um... talked with friends about it." He spares Ingrid a glance before continuing. "Thought a lot about what I seasons I'm not, right? And Winter was all that was left. All that made any sense. Plus Sasha? She was all alone. Didn't feel right." Its as good an explanation as he can give. A whole lot better than 'I was just winging it'. Which has a ring of truth to it. He blinks again.

[Ingrid]

"Awww. Thats sooo sweet!" Ingrid croons. She can't help it, really. Its an abortive attempt to hide the blooming rush that blossoms on her face when confirmation comes - confirmation that she has helped someone find their place. If anyone took careful note of her posture they'd swear her toes were wriggling.