(1902) John and Abraham

The knight leads the Sun Banisher to the side.

"So" he initiates "The Coronation was an evening of remembrance. Recalling a Sorrow and coming to terms with it" Abraham recounts "What is this celebration about?"

John nodded in acknowledgment of remembering Sorrow at the Coronation. "Tonight is about letting go," he replied simply. "I'm not above quoting The Last Jedi, because it is very appropriate. 'Let the past die. Kill it if you must.' The baggage that we carry must be shed in order to craft new defenses against The Others. I mourned the loss of my girlfriend, Ava Lance, at the Coronation. Tonight, I will begin a new way forward."

He gave silent thanks to Maxwell for the inspiration. "The destitute and desperate know Jack Diamond is a nice guy. I plan to help them get back on track."

"But don't we learn from the past? From the mistakes we've made?" It's not that Abraham wants to argue, especially not after what happened at the Coronation. He is baiting John into telling him more "Still, the notion of not clinging to history can be appealing to Springs. We, too, advocate abandon, if differently and to different ends" He focuses on the bonfire for a moment, observing all the others here. This Freehold is thriving. Getting ready for Spring.

"And I take it the fire is where the past burns? And a symbol of pushing back the darkness of our past experiences?" He may be reading too much into it, but that's Abraham for you. Seeing metaphors everywhere.

Abraham's face retains a look of interest as the topic shifts to the destitute mundanes. In fact, the interest increases "And how do you plan to do that? I'm not doubting you, John, just looking for inspiration. I have similar plans, to focus more on those most overlooked. Might be mutually benefitial, for me as an anchor of sanity, and for them" He smiles.

"Learning from mistakes is different from dwelling on them," he replied with a calm, confident tone. "Though I be a Courtier of Sorrow, I do not wallow in it," he then added with emphasis, "none should. It becomes an awful, insidious cancer of the mind."

The Darkling nodded to the fire, "Yes." He elaborated, "Pain is inevitable. Pain is a uniquely personal experience. After accepting those two facts, we can deal with it. It is up to the individual to determine how to move forward after that."

The Sunbanisher smiles at the Spring's interest. "I help them out with the basics. Things that we would take for granted like doing laundry. Socks and underwear are always in demand." He chuckled lightly. "You're exactly right, mutual benefit. That's how I managed to make a few friends."

"People who are born into poverty are almost guaranteed to be stuck in poverty for the rest of their lives. When The Gentry feels like slumming, the children are easy prey. Their Fetches are easily written off as typical victims of 'broken homes,' not supernatural kidnappers."

A cancer of the mind? What a brilliant metaphor! First thing Abraham will do after he gets home is writing it down "You sound like someone who speaks from experience" Dangerous waters? Only ones worth sailing on.

From what he's been saying, John Doe appears different than the stereotypical Winter. Or maybe the knight just got all the wrong stereotypes "Again, certainly there are some good strategies on dealing with pain? We'd be living in a terrifying world indeed if a given solution'd work only on a single individual"

"Interesting" Abraham comments on John's strategies an endeavors "It sounds... mundane, but no less useful because of it. Maybe even more so? If one is a product of magic, one'd do well to remember there is laundry to do" He chuckles lightly "I was thinking places like hospitals and youth centers. People there could use a good laugh, a nice story wouldn't help either" Or getting a shot of Glamour, while he was at it "I once heard that human laughter, especially children's, is like poison to the Gentry. I have no idea if it's true, but wouldn't it be just hilarious if it was?"

"Unfortunately, I've seen addiction in action," he replied with a tone bearing more weight to his words than what was spoken. "Sorrow makes people desperate for release of any kind."

He paused for a moment, the Spring had inspired him, his somber demeanor changed - visibly. John's reflective skin bore a stronger shine to it. "You do make a good point though. We need more solutions to the problems we have. If laughter is the best medicine, having connections to local hospitals can help us too." A sly, wolfish grin followed, "And maybe we'll find out if that actually gives them more than just a headache."

This time, the preservative part of Abraham's mind prevailed and he didn't ask what addiction and when has John seen, precisely. Since neither is in a rush to leave the freehold, there'd be plenty of time to get back to the topic naturally. As the Darkling shares his thought on Sorrow and release, the knight adds something...

"...and pushes them into the hands of Turpitude, Desire's ugly sibling. Sometimes it's all too easy to twist our Courts' ideals into their mockery"

As they plot the poking of the True with various 'medicines', Abraham mirrors Doe's wolfish grin "What we can have, and what the Gentry can never have is companionship. What is that, 'E Pluribus Unum?'. Supporting one another in action is how we not only survive, but thrive. Alas, I have said too much already"

And then the Winter Queen makes her announcement. Doing some quick math, Abraham figures there'll be plenty more occasions to talk to this curious Mirrorskin - but possibly only this one to participate in this celebration.

"It seems Queen Sasha is about to fire up this gathering" He chuckles softly at the joke "Shall we?"

The knight-errant makes his way towards thoe already assembled, possibly with the Onyx alongside him

Feel free to post a response if you want, I'll close this thread later! Abraham joins this group

John was about to give a response, when things were rapidly changing. "Yea, let's roll."

Good thread!