A Quick Conversation

Feb 18th, 2018 05:43 AM

The clockwork veteran stiffened at the lad's request for further conversation. It was something he'd rather hoped to avoid. But then Verne tried to think of it as more of a status report and he was able to relax a bit.

He nodded curtly as was the polite fashion some hundred or so years past as he tried to remember which one was 'Ingrid'."Of course. Master Quick, is it? For such a gracious Host, I have three. Minutes, that is."

Verne had meant the remark to be humorous though his deliver was unwieldy and likely over-serious, since by he wasn't a jovial person by nature. It was something Gaston would say, a socialite even among the horrors of war. It felt alien coming from his own lips however, as Verne himself was unused to socializing with mortals or at least those who had once been mortals.

"Sorry, lad. Take as long as you wish," Verne realized his gaff at once, "Not lad. My apologies, Sir. Or young Sir, rather. Or... uh... I'm sorry. You had questions, Master Quick?" Verne hoped emphasizing the purpose of the conservation might distract from his uncomfortable fumbling with honorifics.

**Quick** · Feb 18th, 2018 02:18 PM

Quick takes a moment - a couple blinks - trying to nail down this new guy. He's all over the place... way to serious. Like a plastic man he used to know. He must have come from a pretty weird durance to be talking like that.

No, that isn't fair. Quick's been just as weird around people. Well, weird anyways.

"Just 'Quick' is good. Or James." He smiles as disarmingly as he can. Definitely not as worried about this guy being dangerous. Weird, maybe. He'd have to work on this guy. "Guess this is the part where I ask your name. Your sign, all that." A coy smile comes out with that last bit. Guy has to have a sense of humor. He'd made that terrible joke earlier.

Feb 18th, 2018 07:24 PM

Tilting his head, the battle veteran tried to make sense of the lad. Of Quick. Or... James. No. Jame's was too famailiar at this juncture. By propriety, Quick it was.

"Verne," he reported thoughtfully, trying to recall the name he had been born with. Still forgotten, he added with a decisive nod, "Just Verne is good. I... haven't any other to offer. Lost in the Hedge. Along with a reliable pocket watch."

His shattered mind started to drift, "Imagine them sometimes. Lost time piece and a forgotten name. Sharing the grim company of the Lost... consoling each other in the way that two lost souls are want to do. Well... if watches and names had souls, that is."

The glimmering opulence of the room reflected off of the fabric of young Quick's silken apparel bringing the clockwork man back to the here and now. "A Sign? Not sure of ever having a sign to speak of. Gentlemen? No that can't be right. Slippery When Wet? The pipes... always had... iss-yews. Poorly designed. To many retrofits. Is it common in this Age to associate oneself with a some of some of Sign? Is it some matter of Rank, then? Seems I've associated with the more sign-less inhabitants of this fair City. No. Actually... I have met several, 'Please Helps' and 'Will Work for Foods' and one 'Spaceship Broken: Need Parts, All Donations Accepted.'"

It was obvious in the way he pronounced 'issue' as 'iss-yew' and a particular choice of certain words that Vern was from beyond the States, though his accent muddied by over a century in his Durance made it hard to place. "Has it something to do with the Facebook? Still not quite ready for computers as yet. It IS on the To-Do List however."

The battle veteran realized he had exceeded his mandate to simply report and had began to ramble again. He froze abruptly and offered a nod in apology for his discourteous excess.

"Master Quick," was all he said regrettably in lieu of a more pronounced apology as Verne's added brain couldn't sort the best words to explain his dysfunction in a manner that wouldn't prove too revealing or too embarrassing for host and guest alike.

**Quick** · Feb 19th, 2018 06:31 AM

"Alright, Verne then." The Elemental's head tilts slightly to one side. Forgotten his own name? That's... terrible. Quick still clings to the name he was born with. He conjures up a compassionate smile.

As the Verne tries to tackle Quick's joke, Quick tries not to laugh. He's pretty sure the new guy isn't making a joke. He's just so out-there that Quick can't help but find it funny. Sad, too. Kinda. A few blinks.

"Forget the sign thing." Guess he has to be straightforward about it? "You drawn to a Season or anything? Took me a while. To, you know... pick one out. Ingrid sat down with me about it. Helped me narrow down the options. Ended up just kinda picking one." He rubs the back of his neck, feeling a little embarrassed. "Really trying to make the best of this Winter thing, though."

Feb 19th, 2018 03:14 PM

Forgetting the 'sign thing'? Verne could do that. Forgetting things had become something of a specialty. It's was remember that was the challenge. He merely nodded curtly at the lad's request.

"Why Winter?" Verne blurted out the obvious question in his mind. "Seem more like a Spring with this..."

The battle veteran made a sweeping gesture to the surrounding opulence, "All of this... Beauty."

"Only ask, being Winter as well. Practically knee deep in snow," he paused trying to recall when his Mantle was decided. "Don't recall making any choice. Having chance to 'pick'. Winter for as long as I can remember." The clockwork man paused, gears stuttering as he tried to determine if the reflection was funny, pathetic or both.

The lad's company stalled another drift into whimsy. Pleasant enough sort. Verne couldn't help but wonder at the young man's mien and how Winter made manifest on the fair youth. He stilled at the wary thought he might be oversharing again, lulled by a friendly face and curious conversation.

**Quick** · Feb 24th, 2018 04:42 PM

Trying to relax, Quick laughs a little. "Spring? Me? Guess I've got the look for it." He'd given Spring a little thought. Not much, though. Nothing wrong with a little fun, but he wouldn't call himself a merry-maker. Too much baggage.

"Winter 'picked' you, then, right? I'm... very new. To Winter. Sasha's the only other long-term Winter I've talked to." Talked to seriously, at any rate. He shifts a little on his feet - more for the need to move than anything else "What does it mean for you? I mean... I joined cuz it suited my lifestyle. Been hiding for a long time. Keeping secrets. All that."

Feb 24th, 2018 09:35 PM

He blinked blankly at the lad. What sort of secrets could one so young be burdened by. But Verne reminded himself that age was a tricky thing amongst the Ling. Someone born a mere score of years could have lived lifetimes in the Durance and come back a wizened shriveled up old thing or others like himself might have been born two over any normal only to return not seeming anywhere near that old. Praps the lad was one such, though his speech seem contemporary enough.

"I see," the awkward veteran said, at a loss for better words. "Winter has it's beauty as well as it's cruel, darker presentations. It only makes sense the Court should reflect that seeming."

"As for Winter's Choice? Spring seems too frivolous when all is so serious. Summer too bold against an unbeatable foe," He took a breath. The air stung his lungs with a sweet chill as his passion grew. And Autumn? Isn't there enough fear without making a Mantle of it? Winter caught what is left of me as regret remains. Whatever else I may recall of my life previous, the regret for what I was. What I did. Well.... yes."

He took a moment before betraying himself future. "That remains."

Verne cleared his throat uncomfortably, "Have I answered your questions in full, Master Quick?"

"You mentioned another in Winter's Court? Yes?" He raised his brow inquisitively, "Besides yourself, the fellow newcomer John and myself."

He'd almost slipped into some manner of interrogation. He bit his lip less he put off the lad. The bright drift of Winter. He bowed his head curtly to invite the youngish ling to speak future without his interruption.

**Quick** · Feb 24th, 2018 10:20 PM

Quick nods a little. "Everyone's got baggage. You ever feel like sharing, let me know." He wouldn't press Verne about it. Not yet. All Quick needs is for a new Winter to show up and be the one that scares him off. And the newcomer's anxiety is bouncing right off Quick and magnifying back at him. This must be why opposites attract. Quick averts his gaze for a moment and tries to resist the urge to run.

"Yeah. But, um, seriously? This 'Master' stuff makes me uncomfortable. I was just a drifter before. Left my old life behind in Manhattan and didn't look back."
He's basically no one, but he wouldn't admit that out loud. "Not saying I'm mad at you for being polite. Just... relax a little?" Better polite and stuffy than dangerous. But Quick can only handle so much.

"Other guy is a Winter, too?" quick blinks a few times, glancing at John Doe from afar. "Jesus... Well, Sasha will be happy. To meet you guys. She's the 'other' Winter. Queen, basically. Taught me a lot. It'd be good for you to meet her." If Quick could tell who she was in the crowd, that is.

Feb 24th, 2018 10:53 PM

"I would like that. Meeting the Queen... or whatever she might serve as?" Verne nodded coolly, tucking the Manhattan reference away. He wasn't sure about the request to abandon propriety and just, 'relax'. In Verne's anachronistic head the two didn't work together. It was only by following form one could trust function. Abandoning one's manners was NOT a path to relaxation.

"Yes. Apologies. 'Mister' Quick, then. We'll save the Master til you've proven yourself in some past hosting a magnificent room, then," he jested stiffly, "Well that meet with modern sensibility, fellow Winter."

May one inquire, what function you serve in Winter's Court?" Verne made attempt to make his question seem less like an interrogation with little success and he glance beyond Quick's shoulder to see if he might guess which the Winter's Monarch might be.

**Quick** · Feb 25th, 2018 03:54 PM

"Queen seems like it would work. With a following this size." Quick says, considering. The Freehold has been pretty small for as long as he's been here. Having four Winters here changes everything. He blinks a few times, snapping back to reality.

His smile comes easily this time. Verne definitely has a sense of humor. Takes some of the tension out of the situation. "Think I like that better, honestly. Do think the club looks pretty good, though - don't get me wrong - just not super comfortable with the um..." What's the word again? "Honorifics."

As his eyes wandered over to the other Winter Verne has mentioned, Quick frowns a bit. Guy looks like maybe he's trying to get someone's attention. Hard to tell, though. He'd have to check on him afterwards. Eyes back on Verne. The Elemental clears his throat.

"In a Court of, what, two people?" He can't help but laugh a little. "Not the Monarch. That's about it. Guess I look after the House of Mirrors in Funderland. But I wouldn't give that a title or anything. Just wanted to help Sasha out a bit. So if you're asking if there's openings... I'd say yeah."

A Quick Conversation

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